Description
Book SynopsisAt face value, this book is about medicine in Cambodia over the last hundred years. At the same time, however, by using 'medicine' (in the sense of ideas, practices and institutions relating to health and illness) as a prism through which to view colonial and post-colonial Cambodian society more generally, it offers an historical and contemporary anthropology of the nation of Cambodia.
Rich in ethnographic detail derived from both contemporary anthropological fieldwork and colonial archival material, the study is an account of the simultaneous presence in Cambodia of two medical traditions: the modern, biomedical one first introduced by the French colonial power at the turn of the twentieth century, and the indigenous Khmer health cosmology. In their reliance on one or the other of the two traditions, to a large extent the Khmer people have been concerned to find efficient medical treatment that also adheres to social norms (not least the emphasis on the morality of social relations). This concern is also evident in the prevailing medical pluralism in Cambodia today.
The authors trace the interaction (and lack thereof) between these two traditions from the French colonial period via the political upheavals of the 1970s through to the present day. The result is more than a medical anthropology; this is a key text that also makes a significant contribution to the anthropological study of Cambodian society at large and will be an important resource for development planners and aid workers in medical and related fields.
Trade Review'This is a compelling, persuasive study of the indigenizationA" of global bio-political knowledge in Cambodia from colonial to modern times. Rigorously researched, balanced in interpretation and cautionary rather than idealistic, scholars and policymakers alike will derive much benefit from this insightful assessment of the human condition in Cambodia today. It is benchmark, interdisciplinary social science for showing us how social order and everyday survival are continually shaped and reshaped by successive models of governance.' - Laura Summers, University of Hull
Table of ContentsPreface vii Glossary xi 1. Introduction 1 2. Colonialism and Medicine in Indochina 18 3. French Medicine in Cambodia 43 4. The Khmer Rouge Medical Regime and Socialist Health 84 5. Indigenous Practitioners: Healers, Spirit Mediums and Magic Monks 129 6. Midwives and the Medicalization of Motherhood 169 7. Leprosy: Symbol and Social Suffering 203 8. Contemporary Healthcare Resources 233 9. Conclusion 270 Appendix 275 References 277 Index 297
