This thesis analyses missionary reactions to the sleeping sickness epidemic that haunted East and Central Africa in the early 20th century. Sleeping sickness was an inevitably fatal disease endemic...Show moreThis thesis analyses missionary reactions to the sleeping sickness epidemic that haunted East and Central Africa in the early 20th century. Sleeping sickness was an inevitably fatal disease endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa. In focusing on the German protestant Bethel Mission and the French catholic White Fathers mission, this thesis argues that missionaries had distinct approaches towards sleeping sickness and that the disease was less prevalent in the African Great Lakes Region than previously assumed. Past scholarship on sleeping sickness has relied almost exclusively on the Belgian, German, and British colonial states’ archives. Sleeping sickness threatened these states’ claim to power and consequently induced profound colonial anxieties. Missionaries, instead, were less anxious in light of sleeping sickness. Missionary medicine and missionary mobility regimes aided the Bethel Mission and the White Fathers to cope better with the epidemic. Their archives offer an alternative to colonial archives that does not conflate the disease, and also acknowledges that vast areas in the African Great Lakes Region were free of sleeping sickness. The disease was one among many diseases the missionaries and their communities faced. The missionary sources this thesis relies on suggest that scholarship on sleeping sickness reflects a colonial imaginary rather than the lived reality of non-colonial individuals in the African Great Lakes Region.Show less
The concept of empathy emerged at the end of the nineteenth century and described an emotional aspect of aesthetic experience. In the context of art, empathy was supposed to enable an art lover to...Show moreThe concept of empathy emerged at the end of the nineteenth century and described an emotional aspect of aesthetic experience. In the context of art, empathy was supposed to enable an art lover to experience art more deeply or even merge one’s emotional life with the artwork’s motivation and meaning. On the other hand, empathy, as connected to the arts, represented a chance of improving one’s empathic reactions, both towards the artwork as well as towards other human beings. Although very beneficial, this outlook on empathy has been lost, and the meaning of the term has changed significantly. Empathy, which is especially visible in the realm of medicine, turned into an instrument used for the collection of knowledge on the patient. Despite the change in its meaning, empathy can be successfully reconsidered with the help of art.Show less
This paper argues that the Song Dynasty was a turning point for medicine in the pre-modern history of China. The medical theory and governance had undergone a complete transformation as a result of...Show moreThis paper argues that the Song Dynasty was a turning point for medicine in the pre-modern history of China. The medical theory and governance had undergone a complete transformation as a result of the increasing interests of literati scholars and Song emperors.Show less
This thesis at one level examines how and why were the European doctors as ‘outsiders’ able to make an impression on the aristocratic elites in the Mughal court? And at another level, it...Show moreThis thesis at one level examines how and why were the European doctors as ‘outsiders’ able to make an impression on the aristocratic elites in the Mughal court? And at another level, it investigates the direct relationship between cross-cultural medical favors and the advantages doctors gained by offering their services. Did such intercessions by doctors’ yield only the much-desired trade concessions like farmans to the trading companies in which these medical men were employed and represented as ambassadors in the courts or something more especially in terms of monetary gains such as money, an enviable position at the court or other benefits?Show less
