Histories of Medicine and Healing in the Indian Ocean World ─ The Modern Period

This interdisciplinary work, the second of two volumes, presents essays on various aspects of disease, medicine, and healing in different locations in and around the Indian Ocean during the modern period. Themes include theoretical explanations for disease, concepts of fertility, material culture, healing in relation to diplomacy and colonialism, public health, and the health of slaves and migrant workers. Overall, the books argue that, throughout the period of study, the Indian Ocean has been the site of multiple interconnected medical interactions that may be viewed in the context of the environmental factors connecting the region. The two volumes are the first to use the Indian Ocean World as a geographical and conceptual framework for the study of disease. It will appeal to academics and graduate students working in the fields of medical and scientific history, as well as in the growing fields of Indian Ocean studies and global history.

Anna Winterbottom is a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Sussex, UK.

Facil Tesfaye is Assistant Professor in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures (African Studies) at the University of Hong Kong.