Balancing the Self : Medicine, Politics and the Regulation of Health in the Twentieth Century

Concepts of ‘balance’ have been central to modern politics, medicine and society. Yet, while many health, environmental and social challenges are discussed globally in terms of imbalances in biological, social and ecological systems, strategies for addressing modern excesses and deficiencies have focused almost exclusively on the agency of the individual. Balancing the Self explores the diverse ways in which balanced and unbalanced selfhoods have been subject to construction, intervention and challenge across the long twentieth century. Through original chapters on subjects as varied as obesity control, fatigue and the regulation of work, and the physiology of exploration in extreme conditions, the volume analyses how concepts of balance and rhetorics of empowerment and responsibility have historically been used for a variety of purposes, by a diversity of political and social agencies. Historicising present-day concerns, as well as uncovering the previously hidden interests of the past, this volume’s wide-ranging discussions of health governance, subjectivity and balance will be of interest to historians of medicine, sociologists, social policy analysts, and social and political historians alike. This electronic version has been made available under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) open access license. Many health, environmental, and social challenges across the globe – from diabetes to climate change – are regularly discussed in terms of imbalances in biological, ecological, and social systems. Yet, as contributions to this collection demonstrate, while the pressures of modernity have long been held to be pathogenic, strategies for addressing modern excesses and deficiencies of bodies and minds have frequently focused on the agency of the individual, self-knowledge, and individual choices. This volume explores how concepts of ‘balance'have been central to modern politics, medicine, and society, analysing the diverse ways in which balanced and unbalanced selfhoods have been subject to construction, intervention, and challenge across the long twentieth century. Through original chapters on subjects as varied as obesity control, fatigue and the regulation of work, and the physiology of exploration in extreme conditions, Balancing the self explores how the mechanisms and meanings of balance have been framed historically. Together, contributions examine the positive narratives that have been attached to the ideals and practices of ‘self-help', the diverse agencies historically involved in cultivating new ‘balanced'selves, and the extent to which rhetorics of empowerment and responsibility have been used for a variety of purposes, from disciplining bodies to cutting social security. With contributions from leading and emerging scholars such as Dorothy Porter, Alex Mold, Vanessa Heggie, Chris Millard, and Natasha Feiner, Balancing the self generates new insights into emerging fields of health governance, subjectivity, and balance. Front matter Contents List of figures and tables List of contributors Acknowledgements List of abbreviations Introduction: balancing the self in the twentieth century Part I: Configuring balance Balance and the ‘good’ diabetic in Britain, c.1900–60 From the alcoholic to the sensible drinker: alcohol health education campaigns in England ‘Look After Yourself’: visualising obesity as a public health concern in 1970s and 1980s Britain Part II: Regulating imbalance Self-help and self-promotion: dietary advice and agency in North America and Britain Your life in your hands: teaching ‘relaxed living’ in post-war Britain Pilot fatigue and the regulation of airline schedules in post-war Britain Part III: Reconfiguring balance Extreme acts: narratives of balance and moderation at the limits of human performance Self-help, marriage guidance and the making of the midlife crisis Balancing contested meanings of creativity and pathology in Parkinson’s Disease Conclusion: balance, malleability and anthropology: historical contexts Index Balancing the Self explores the diverse ways in which balanced and unbalanced selfhoods have been subject to construction, intervention and challenge across the long twentieth century. Chapters on diabetes, 'sensible drinking', obesity control, dietetic regulation, fatigue, heart disease, physical and emotional extremes, Parkinson's disease and other conditions understood in terms of disordered balance analyse the ways in which the mechanisms and meanings of balance have been framed historically. Together, contributions examine the positive narratives that have been attached to the ideals and practices of "self-help", and the extent to which rhetorics of empowerment and responsibility have been used for a variety of purposes, from disciplining bodies to cutting social security provision Balancing the Self generates new insights into emerging fields of health governance, subjectivity and balance. This volume’s wide-ranging discussions will be of interest to historians of medicine, sociologists, social policy analysts, and social and political historians, as well as lay and professional readers.