Medicine and the Saints

Medicine and the Saints: Science, Islam, and the Colonial Encounter in Morocco, 1877-1956 Hardcover – August 15, 2013
Author: Visit ‘s Ellen J. Amster Page ID: 0292745443

Review

“This book is a significant contribution to the field with much new information and original archival research…It adds to the study of gender and empire, showing how the colonial authorities manipulated the health and well-being of indigenous women for their political interests…It will be well received by scholars interested in the history of the Maghrib and Middle East, Islamic medicine, Sufism, French empire, and gender, health, and empire.”

(Nancy Gallagher, Professor of History, University of California, Santa Barbara)

This is a dazzlingly good book.  Amster takes us on a bewildering tour of medicine and public health in colonial Morocco in a pioneering study…As opposed to those who would find in colonial medicine a demon of oppression, or those who would use it to excuse colonial excesses, Amster has produced a nuanced study that opens an important window on the enormous complexity of medicine and public health as a staging area for the colonial encounter.  

(Richard Keller, Associate Professor, Department of Medical History and Bioethics, University of Wisconsin-Madison)

“The history of North Africa is often severed from the history of sub-Saharan Africa…that this seemed so familiar serves as a testament to Amster’s ability to meld Islamic studies with the methodological approaches and insights of Africanist historians.  Her work provides a model for future studies and will open a dialogue between sets of scholars who do not speak to each other…”

(Neil Kodesh, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Religion and Culture Web Forum, Martin Marty Center for the Advanced Study of Religion, University of Chicago)

“The ‘positive way of knowing’ that Amster describes…touches our work as scholars of religious worlds…Rehabilitating the appreciation of imaginations and epistemologies no longer in the vogue requires empathetic and evocative narration….Ellen Amster’s Medicine and the Saints is an important and impressive addition to the tradition of scholarship that highlights the intertwining of Islamic intellectual and social history.”

(Shahzad Bashir, Stanford University, Religion and Culture Web Forum, Martin Marty Center for the Advanced Study of Religion, University of Chicago)

“A study of how medicine figured in the encounters between the French and the Moroccans; topics include the battle for authority between physicians and Muslim midwives.” -Nina Ayoub, Chronicle of Higher Education

“Medicine and the Saints is an ambitious, pathbreaking interdisciplinary study of the politics of health in Morocco…[Amster’s] major contribution lies in connecting two historiographies that until now have largely operated in isolation. Amster brings methods and analytical techniques familiar to Africanist historians, particularly oral narratives, to the attention of historians of the Middle East and North Africa. Conversely, historians of health and healing in sub-Saharan Africa will gain rich comparative insights from this study of science, Islam, and colonialism.” – The Middle East Journal

“In this pioneering, interdisciplinary study, Professor Amster explores the French campaign to colonize Morocco through medicine… Amster’s breadth of expertise in the fields of medical history, Moroccan/North African history, the history of French colonization, the study of Islam and Sufism, anthropology, sociology, and philosophy is equally matched to the depth in which she explores these topics throughout the six chapters of her work […] his work will have a tremendous impact on many fields and hopefully give rise to further interdisciplinary work in the fields of Islam, North African and Moroccan history, and medicine.” – New Books in Islamic Studies

“…Medicine and the Saints offers readers a complex analysis and interpretation of French colonialism in Morocco…” – American Historical Review

Review

“This first book from an exciting new figure in the field of Islamic medical history offers a fresh look at how the Moroccan body became the site for competing influences leading to a political and scientific modernity. The clear prose, creative use of sources, and historical accuracy are exemplary. Nor will the reader be bored; the narrative is full of twists, turns, and unexpected surprises that engage the mind and stimulate the imagination, regardless of ones disciplinary orientation.” (Susan Gilson Miller, Professor of History, UC Davis, and author of A History of Modern Morocco, 18302000)|”This book is a significant contribution to the field with much new information and original archival research. It brings together earlier work on colonial medicine in Morocco and gives the reader a new appreciation of the importance of medicine and public health in the colonial encounter and in the nationalist resistance movement, and in the state building that followed. It adds to the study of gender and empire, showing how the colonial authorities manipulated the health and well-being of indigenous women for their political interests. . . . It will be well received by scholars interested in the history of the Maghrib and Middle East, Islamic medicine, Sufism, French Empire, and gender, health, and empire.” (Nancy Gallagher, Professor of History, University of California, Santa Barbara)|”This is a dazzlingly good book. Amster takes us on a bewildering tour of medicine and public health in colonial Morocco in a pioneering study. Health was a critical site of contestation in the protectorate. . . . The differences of authority between doctor and patient were dramatically exacerbated by the gulfs of power in the colonial state. Western biomedical and local Islamic epistemologies produced enormous conflict, and yet opened a critical space of resistance to colonial rule. . . . As opposed to those who would find in colonial medicine a demon of oppression, or those who would use it to excuse colonial excesses, Amster has produced a nuanced study that opens an important window on the enormous complexity of medicine and public health as a staging area for the colonial encounter. Among other critical elements of the book, she places the intersection of gender and religion at the forefront, making this a truly notable addition to the literature.” (Richard Keller, Associate Professor, Department of Medical History and Bioethics, University of WisconsinMadison)

See all Editorial Reviews

Hardcover: 350 pagesPublisher: University of Texas Press; 1 edition (August 15, 2013)Language: EnglishISBN-10: 0292745443ISBN-13: 978-0292745445 Product Dimensions: 6 x 1 x 9 inches Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies) Best Sellers Rank: #2,770,700 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #3444 in Books > Medical Books > History #9455 in Books > History > Africa

Such a rich read! The story of the encounter of medical doctors with indigenous midwives and the results this had on both French and Moroccan medicine – wonderful. This is only one of the fascinating chapters the author offers us, putting together each like a fine mystery, piece by piece of painstakingly thorough research. Highly recommended, and very accessible, for academic courses on the history of science and medicine; colonialism; North Africa/Middle East; and Islam.

Historiens de la sant M decine au Maroc blogspot com Jul 27 2013 M decine au Maroc Medicine and the Saints Science Islam and the Colonial Encounter in Morocco 1877 1956Historiens de la sant juillet 2013 blogspot com Jul 31 2013 Hardcover 180 pages Medicine and the Saints Science Islam and the Colonial Encounter in Morocco 1877 1956Make a Refundable deposite Express HelpLine Your personal information and card details are 100 secure About Us Recent Question User Login Security Privacy Policy Question list Terms of Service

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