Leprosy and colonialism

Suriname under Dutch rule, 17501950

By: Stephen Snelders, Keir Waddington (Editor)

Write A Review

Hardcover | 18 May 2017

At a Glance

Hardcover
288 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
21.6 x 13.8 x 1.7

Hardcover

RRP $200.00

$190.75

or 4 interest-free payments of $47.69 with

Ships in 3 to 5 business days

Leprosy and colonialism investigates the history of leprosy in Suriname within the context of Dutch colonial power and racial conflict, from the plantation economy and the age of slavery to the modern colonial state. It explores the relationship between the modern stigmatization and exclusion of people affected with leprosy, and the political tensions and racial fears originating in colonial slave society. In the book colonial sources are read from both the perspective of the rulers and of the ruled. By investigating the complex reciprocities between knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards leprosy over time, the book investigates the Caribbean origins of modern framing and management of leprosy; origins that have so far been neglected in the historiography of colonial and imperial medicine.

Although leprosy is now a neglected tropical disease, its study today is vital in recognising the the influence of our colonial heritage and in exploring the perspectives of other cultures on the contemporary management of health and disease. this is in light of the current global migration movements which make the permeability of boundaries and the transmission of humans and therefore diseases, more common than perhaps ever before in human history.

The book will be of interest to students of colonial history, colonial medicine, and management of infectious disease in multi-ethnic and multi-cultural societies.

Industry Reviews

'Snelders provides a needed corrective to the historiography concerning how Western science began to see leprosy as a colonial problem. His monograph is one of very few that search for the racialized roots of leprosy discourse as far back as the eighteenth century. [...] Snelders's longue duree study greatly expands historians' understanding of leprosy in Suriname as a microcosm of colonialism's racial, social and administrative structures.'
Kristen Block, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Social History of Medicine, vol 33, no 3, August 2018

'Snelders's ambitious book makes an important contribution and adds to our understanding of the history of medicine in the Caribbean and the wider colonial world.'
Juanita De Barros, Department of History, McMaster University, New West Indian Guide 92 (2018) 293-396

'In his detailed and comprehensive history of leprosy care in Surinam, Stephen Snelders highlights several fascinating and unique features of the history of leprosy in this former Dutch colony.'
Hans Pols, University of Sydney, Gesnerus: Swiss Journal of the History of Medicine and Sciences, Vol. 76, No. 1 (2019)

'Leprosy and Colonialism is rich in details, informed in historiographical debate, and written in fluid
prose. [...] The book will be of use not only to historians of medicine but, more generally, to historians and students of colonialism.'
Isis, Journal of the History of Science Society

Shipping

	Standard Shipping	Express Shipping
Metro postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Regional postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Rural postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95

Orders over $89.00 qualify for free shipping.

How to return your order

At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.

Additional postage charges may be applicable.