Introduction to Social History of Medicine in Colonial India

This course seeks to examine the links between medicine and colonialism in the Indian context, roughly between the 18th and 20th centuries. It will focus particularly on the social and cultural dimensions of the encounter between western medicine and indigenous systems. The course will also discuss the institutionalization of public health in India and examine how the colonial encounter left lasting legacies. This course will enable the students to understand the growth of modern medical science and practices in colonial India; the social and cultural dimensions of the colonial public health and medical policies; and the nature of the encounter between diverse medical traditions.

Prof. John Bosco Lourdusamy