Environmental History Group Lecture

Speaker:
Dr. Dominik Merdes (Department for the History of Pharmacy and Science,Technische Universität Braunschweig)

Topic:
Cartographies and Therapeutic Fields: Parasitic Worm Diseases in Southern China of the Early 20th Century

Moderator:
Shaoli Lu (Professor in the Department of History, National Taiwan University & Joint Faculty in the Institute of Taiwan History, Academia Sinica)

Date and Time:
Friday, May 26, 2023. 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (GMT+8)

Place:
Room 802 at ITH (also online via WebEx)

Language:
English

Registration:
Click Here to Register

Abstract:
Parasitic diseases result from complex relationships that question concepts of individual bodies and species. Life histories of parasites have been visualised as parasitic cycles which connect several species. Given that any of the elements of parasitic life cycles is linked to a specific environment, these diagrams could be extended. For example, malaria-transmitting mosquitoes are dependent on suitable breeding grounds; and human attempts to eradicate vector mosquitoes have interfered with elements of other life cycles. Parasites such as hookworm or Leishmania, causing kala-azar, thrive in man-made environments like plantations or coal mines and their containment policies affect labour regimes. My talk focuses on parasitic worms, parasitological cartographies, and therapeutic fields in southern China between 1900 and the 1920s. By “cartographies” I mean not only graphical maps but also more general mappings of parasitological relationships, by “therapeutic fields” the array of therapeutic interventions employed to tackle parasitic diseases. The history of parasitology and especially helminthology in southern China and Taiwan is very particular. Patrick Manson’s filaria research was a decisive moment for the institutionalisation of so-called tropical medicine. And until the 1920s, parasitological research was conducted by diverse agents like customs officers, medical missionaries, and Japanese colonial doctors. On the basis of diseases such as ancylostomiasis (hookworm disease), schistosomiasis, and paragonomiasis, I analyse how practices of parasitological research and treatment developed in the southern China of the early 20th century. How did they compare with other regions? And how did they affect the wider environment?

Please Note:

1. For physical attendance, participants should register before May 23rd. Please feel free to contact Ms. Lin if there is any question. E-mail: asithteh@gmail.com.
2. The lecture will be given in English. You can attend physically or watch the live-steam with Webex. The meeting room holds 50 participants. You can only watch the live-steam after the quota is full.
3. Participants can apply for a two-hours “Certificate for Environmental Education.” The certificate will be issued after the lecture in a form of a hard copy or PDF file.
4. The Certificate for Environmental Education is not a certificate of attendance. Please leave a note or contact us through email if you need it to meet the requirements of your university..
5. Add this event to your Google calendar: https://reurl.cc/2WAnxO.