Africanizing Oncology: Creativity, Crisis, and Cancer in Uganda

In postcolonial Uganda, the Uganda Cancer Institute has played a significant role in shaping lives and identities. This innovative contemporary history explores how the institute has been a microcosm of the Ugandan state, reflecting the experiences of Ugandans in the twentieth century. Through ethnographic fieldwork, patient records, oral histories, and other sources, Africanizing Oncology demonstrates how Ugandans have understood and continue to shape ideas about national identity, political violence, epidemics, and economic life. The book contributes to a growing body of work on chronic disease and situates the contemporary cancer crisis in Africa in a longer history of global cancer research and care.

Format: Hardback
Length: 248 pages
Publication date: 18 January 2022
Publisher: Ohio University Press

Over the past decade, Uganda has faced a growing cancer crisis, drawing attention both locally and internationally. This crisis has inspired a transcontinental research project, which began in 2010, focused on the Uganda Cancer Institute. Africanizing Oncology presents the cancer hospital as a microcosm of the Ugandan state, exploring how Ugandans' experiences in the twentieth century have shaped their understanding of national identity, political violence, epidemics, and economic life. Through ongoing ethnographic fieldwork, patient records, oral histories, private papers from US oncologists, American National Cancer Institute records, British colonial office reports, and even the architecture of the institute itself, the book reveals how Ugandans have interpreted and continue to shape ideas about these critical aspects of their society.

Africanizing Oncology delves into the political, social, technological, and biomedical dimensions of the institute's creation, sustenance, and transformation over the past half-century. By drawing on insights from science and technology studies and contemporary African history, the book contributes to a new wave of contemporary histories that examine the political, technological, moral, and intellectual aspirations and actions of Africans after independence. It also sheds light on the contemporary urgency of the mounting cancer crisis on the continent, placing it within a longer history of global cancer research and care.

The innovative approach of Africanizing Oncology, which combines African studies, science and technology studies, and medical anthropology, appeals to multiple scholarly communities. By offering a multi-disciplinary perspective, the book provides valuable insights into the complex relationships between health, technology, and society in postcolonial Uganda. It challenges traditional narratives and offers a fresh understanding of the historical and cultural factors that have contributed to the country's cancer crisis.

In conclusion, Africanizing Oncology is a groundbreaking work that offers a fresh perspective on the history and impact of the Uganda Cancer Institute. Through its interdisciplinary approach, the book sheds light on the complex ways in which health, technology, and society interact in postcolonial Uganda. It contributes to our understanding of the broader African experience and highlights the urgent need for interdisciplinary research and collaboration in addressing the continent's health challenges.

Weight: 542g
Dimension: 158 x 235 x 23 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780821424650