Critical Issues in Health and Medicine : Comrades in Health : U.S. Health Internationalists, Abroad and at Home

Since the early twentieth century, politically engaged and socially committed U.S. health professionals have worked in solidarity with progressive movements around the world. Often with roots in social medicine, political activism, and international socialism, these doctors, nurses, and other health workers became comrades who joined forces with people struggling for social justice, equity, and the right to health. Anne-Emanuelle Birn and Theodore M. Brown bring together a group of professionals and activists whose lives have been dedicated to health internationalism. By presenting a combination of historical accounts and first-hand reflections, this collection of essays aims to draw attention to the longstanding international activities of the American health left and the lessons they brought home. The involvement of these progressive U.S. health professionals is presented against the background of foreign and domestic policy, social movements, and global politics. Contents 7 Figures 9 Foreword 11 Acknowledgments 15 Introduction 19 The Making of Health Internationalists 31 The Perils of Unconstrained Enthusiasm 61 American Medical Support for Spanish Democracy, 1936–­1938 81 Medical McCarthyism and the Punishment of Internationalist Physicians in the United States 98 Contesting Racism and Innovating Community Health Centers 119 Barefoot in China, the Bronx, and Beyond 135 Medical Internationalism and the “Last Epidemic” 150 Social Medicine, at Home and Abroad 169 Find the Best People and Support Them 184 Cooperantes, Solidarity, and the Fight for Health in Mozambique 200 From Harlem to Harare 216 Brigadistas and Revolutionaries 237 Health and Human Rights in Latin America, and Beyond 254 History, Theory, and Praxis in Pacific Islands Health 270 Doctors for Global Health 284 Doctors Across Blockades 302 Across the Generations 319 Notes on Contributors 335 Index 341 Throughout the twentieth century, politically engaged and socially committed U.S. health professionals - doctors, nurses, and other health workers - have worked in solidarity with progressive movements around the world as comrades with people struggling for social justice, equity, and the right to health. By presenting a combination of historical accounts and firsthand reflections, this collection of essays aims to draw attention to the longstanding international activities of the American health left and the lessons they brought home, against the background of foreign and domestic policy, social movements, and global politics. -- from back cover This collection brings together a group of professionals and activists whose lives have been dedicated to health internationalism. By presenting a combination of historical accounts and first-hand reflections, these essays aim to draw attention to the longstanding international activities of the health left and the lessons they brought home. The involvement of these progressive U.S. health professionals is presented against the background of foreign and domestic policy, social movements, and global politics. Read more...