The Colour of Disease

Today AIDS dominates the headlines. A century ago it was fears of syphilis epidemics. This book looks at how the spread of syphilis was linked to socio-economic transformation land dispossession, migrancy and urbanisation disrupted social networks – factors similarly important in the AIDS crisis. Medical explanations of syphilis and state medical policy, however, were shaped by contemporary beliefs about race. Doctors drew on ideas from social Darwinism, eugenics, and social anthropology to explain the incidence of syphilis among poor whites and Africans, especially women, and to help define ‘normal’ and abnormal sexual behaviour for racial groups.

Author Biography

KAREN JOCHELSON taught at the University of York, and then held a Wellcome research fellowship at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London. Since completing an MBA at the London Business School she has consulted to business on sustainable development, human rights, biotechnology and stakeholder relations.