Explaining Epidemics: and Other Studies in the History of Medicine - Softcover

Rosenberg, Charles E.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521395690 ISBN 13: 9780521395694

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1992

Synopsis

Medicine has always had its historians; but until recently it was a history written by and for practitioners. Charles Rosenberg has been one of the key figures in recent decades in opening up the history of medicine beyond parochial concerns and instead viewing medicine in the rich currents of intellectual and social change of the past two centuries. This book brings together for the first time in one place many of Professor Rosenberg's most important essays. The first two sections of essays, focusing on ideas and institutions, are meant at the same time to underline interactions between these realms. The essays treat such topics as therapeutics and its relationship to social change in the nineteenth century; the practice of medicine in New York a century ago; and the rise and fall of the dispensary. The third section of the book focuses on the attempt to use history as a resource for discussion of a medical world that often seems out of control and in a semi-permanent crisis, economic, organizational, and humane. The essays discuss themes that have become visible to the public--deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill and the status of psychiatry; the hospital as a social and economic problem; and the social negotiations surrounding AIDS. Charles Rosenberg is the Janice and Julian Bers Professor of the History and Sociology of Science at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author, most recently, of the widely acclaimed book, The Care of Strangers: The Rise of America's Hospital System (1987). He has served as president of the Society for the Social History of Medicine and is currently the president of the American Association for the History of Medicine.

About this title

Book Description

Medicine until recently remained a history written by and for practitioners. These essays diverge from this tradition in an attempt to view medical history within the context of intellectual and social change of the last two centuries.

Review

"In a brief review it is impossible to do justice to Rosenberg's rich writings. Suffice it to say that we are all indebted to him for exploring the history of medicine and disease in ways that blaze new paths for others to follow." Bulletin of the History of Medicine

"Indeed, the very question Rosenberg raises, namely, 'Why care about the history of medicine?' not only reverberates through a number of his essays, but his carefully framed analyses conclusively demonstrate the utility of a historical perspective in sifting through the various components of our contemporary health crisis. These essays demand attentive reading; one hopes they will stimulate furthyer reflection and generate additional studies. Journal of the American Medical Association

"Indeed, the very question Rosenberg raises, namely, 'Why care about the history of medicine?' not only reverberates through a number of his essays, but his carefully framed analyses conclusively demonstrate the utility of a historical perspective in sifting through the various components of our contemporary health crisis. These essays demand attentive reading; one hopes they will stimulate further reflection and generate additional studies. Journal of the American Medical Association

"I would suggest this work to anyone in the health profession as a much needed grounding for her or his education. We cannot know who we are without knowing where we have been, and Rosenberg provides us with some useful guideposts." The Library Letter

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1992
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521395690
• ISBN 13: 9780521395694
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 368