Civilization and syphilization: a doctor and his disease in colonial Morocco

Clark, H.-L. (2013) Civilization and syphilization: a doctor and his disease in colonial Morocco. Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 87(1), pp. 86-114. (doi: 10.1353/bhm.2013.0003) (PMID:23603530)

Abstract

In colonial North Africa a mutilating disease resembling syphilis was a focal point for French medical debate about the world history of syphilis, the physiological effects of climate and race, and the science of microbiology. From 1916 to 1919, the French venereologist Georges Lacapère established a pilot scheme in Fez, Morocco, for diagnosis and treatment of "native" syphilis. In 1923 he published his research findings and coined the disease concept "Arab syphilis" to describe a form of syphilis found in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, which he characterized in behavioral terms. Lacapère's work was not simply derivative of earlier discourses, nor was it a straightforward outcome of his clinical experience in Morocco. The careers of Lacapère and Arab syphilis problematize the analytical use of race to understand colonial biomedicine in the Maghreb.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Clark, Dr Hannah-Louise
• Authors: Clark, H.-L.
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > History
• Journal Name: Bulletin of the History of Medicine
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• ISSN: 0007-5140
• ISSN (Online): 1086-3176
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2013 The Johns Hopkins University Press
• First Published: First published in Bulletin of the History of Medicine 87(1): 86-114
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy