Africanizing Oncology: Creativity, Crisis, and Cancer in Uganda

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Africanizing Oncology is a novel historical study that explores the Uganda Cancer Institute's role in shaping lives and identities in postcolonial Uganda. By integrating insights from various disciplines, the book portrays the institute as a microcosm of the Ugandan state, tracing the experiences of Ugandans throughout the twentieth century. Through ethnographic fieldwork, patient records, oral histories, and other sources, the book demonstrates how Ugandans have understood and continue to shape ideas about national identity, political violence, epidemics, and economic life. The study contributes to a growing body of work on chronic disease and emphasizes the continent's contemporary cancer crisis within a longer history of global cancer research and care.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 248 pages
Publication date: 27 September 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 provides valuable insights into the complex relationships between health, technology, and society in postcolonial Uganda. It challenges traditional narratives and offers a new understanding of the historical and cultural factors that have contributed to the country's cancer crisis. This book will be of interest to scholars, researchers, and policymakers working in the fields of African studies, medical anthropology, and public health, as well as anyone interested in understanding the broader social and cultural dimensions of health and disease in Africa.

Weight: 424g
Dimension: 152 x 225 x 19 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780821425091