The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture: Volume 22: Science and Medicine

by James G. Thomas (Editor), Charles Reagan Wilson (Editor)

Overview

Science and medicine have been critical to southern history and the formation of southern culture. For three centuries, scientists in the South have documented the lush natural world around them and set a lasting tradition of inquiry. The medical history of the region, however, has been at times tragic. Disease, death, and generations of poor health have been the legacy of slavery, the plantation economy, rural life, and poorly planned cities. The essays in this volume explore this legacy as well as recent developments in technology, research, and medicine in the South.
Subjects include natural history, slave health, medicine in the Civil War, public health, eugenics, HIV/AIDS, environmental health, and the rise of research institutions and hospitals, to name but a few. With 38 thematic essays, 44 topical entries, and a comprehensive overview essay, this volume offers an authoritative reference to science and medicine in the American South.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807837207
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	11/26/2012
Series:	The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture , #22
Edition description:	1
Pages:	302
Sales rank:	1,147,204
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Charles Reagan Wilson is Kelly Gene Cook Sr. Chair in History and Professor of southern studies at the University of Mississippi. He is coeditor of the original Encyclopedia of Southern Culture.
James G. Thomas Jr. is associate director for publications at the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi. He is also managing editor of The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture.

Table of Contents

General Introduction xi

Introduction xvii

Science and Medicine 1

Abortion 25

Aerospace 29

Agriculture, Scientific 33

Alcohol and Alcoholism 37

American Indian Health and Medicine 41

Childbirth, Antebellum 46

Civil War Medicine 50

Climate and Weather 54

Drug Use 57

Education, Medical 62

Environmental Health 67

Eugenics 71

Folk Medicine 76

Gender and Health 80

Healers, Women 85

Health, African American 88

Health, Mental 92

Health, Public 96

Health, Rural 100

Health, Worker 203

Maternal and Child Health, Urban 108

Medical Care, Public Health, and Race 113

Medical Centers 117

Medical Science, Racial Ideology, and Practice, to Reconstruction 118

Medicine, States' Rights 120

Obesity 123

Physicians, African American 125

Poverty, Effects of 130

Professionalization of Science 133

Racialized Medicine 138

Racism, Scientific 143

Science and Religion (Evolution vs. Creationism) 147

Slavery and Medicine 151

Slaves in Medical Education and Medical Experiments 155

Surgeons General 159

Technological Education 167

Technology 172

Urban Health Conditions 176

Barnard, Frederick A. P. 181

Breckinridge, Mary. See Frontier Nursing Service Cancer Alley (Louisiana) 182

Carver, George Washington 183

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 185

Country Doctor 188

Creation Science 190

DDT 192

DeBakey, Michael 194

Faith Healing 195

Frontier Nursing Service 197

Garden, Alexander 200

Geophagia and Pica 200

Guyton, Arthur C. 202

Hardy, James D. 204

Herty, Charles Holmes 206

HIV/AIDS 207

Hookworm 210

Hoxsey Therapy 211

Influenza Epidemic of 1918 212

LeConte, John and Joseph 214

Leprosy 215

Lewis, Henry Clay 219

Long, Crawford W. 221

Malaria 222

Maury, Matthew Fontaine 224

McDowell, Ephraim 225

Medical Committee for Human Rights 225

Medical Museums 228

Medicine Shows and Patent Medicines 229

Meharry Medical College 232

Moore, Samuel Preston 234

Pellagra 235

Poteat, William Louis 238

Reed, Walter 239

Research Triangle Park 240

Ruffin, Edmund 241

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital 243

Savannah River Site 245

Scopes Trial 246

Sickle Cell Anemia 248

Sims, J. Marion 250

Slave Hospitals 252

Tuskegee Syphilis Study (United States Public Health Service Syphilis Study) 254

Whitfield (Mississippi State Hospital) 256

Yellow Fever 259

Index of Contributors 261

Index 263

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

An excellent, engrossing volume on the fascinating landscape of science and medicine in the American South. A judicious mix of broad topics and particular events and individuals, this well-edited text is scholarship of the first rank. It will be an essential guide for anyone seeking knowledge of science and medicine in this important region.—Steven M. Stowe, Indiana University, author of Doctoring the South: Southern Physicians and Everyday Medicine in the Mid-Nineteenth Century



Scholars, students, and the wider public will find the encyclopedia a thoughtful introduction and a source for deeper knowledge on the role of medicine and science in Southern life. Nuances, surprises, and critical ideas abound in this great read.—Susan M. Reverby, Wellesley College

Editorial Reviews

[A] multi-year, multi-dimensional, and unprecedented series.—Library Journal



The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture is terrific . . . It includes so much more material, with a lot of new scholars writing about topics scholars had not discussed before.—Southern Register



It contains much material that anyone posing as an authority on the culture of the South ought to know.—North Carolina Historical Review

From the Publisher

Reviewer: Elizabeth Connor, MLS, DM/AHIP(The Citadel)
Description: Part of the 24-volume New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture, published by the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi and The University of North Carolina Press, this book is devoted to topics in science and medicine. The previous edition was released in 1989.
Purpose: The publishers describe this set as "the first reference book to deal exclusively with an American regional culture." This volume was researched and written by 78 contributors, predominantly from Southern educational institutions.
Audience: Libraries that collect encyclopedias and general works about Southern culture and history will be interested in acquiring this work. However, physicians, scientists, and other health professionals might expect more detail than this volume offers. For example, the 2-page entry on the Tuskegee Syphilis Study would be a good start for someone unfamiliar with the subject.
Features: This work is oddly organized, with nearly 180 pages devoted to "still unexplored" subjects such as alcohol and alcoholism, Civil War medicine, eugenics, faith healing, folk medicine, medical education, and racialized medicine, followed by another 80 pages, arranged alphabetically, covering persons, places, and diseases. Brief biographical essays explain the contributions of such notables as scientist George Washington Carver, cardiologist Michael DeBakey, physiologist Arthur C. Guyton, epidemiologist Walter Reed, physician J. Marion Sims, and others. Places covered include Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Research Triangle Park, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Savannah River Site, and other locations of interest. Disease entries range from to HIV/AIDS to hookworm to leprosy to pellagra to sickle cell anemia to yellow fever. This volume includes some black-and-white photographs, a few tables and charts, a 2-page contributor index, and a 19-page name/subject index.
Assessment: This work is unique in its scope of science and medicine and focus on regional history and culture.

Doody's Review Service