Starving on a Full Stomach: Hunger and the Triumph of Cultural Racism in Modern South Africa (Reconsiderations in Southern African History)

An ideology of African ignorance that justified white supremacy grew up in South Africa during the first half of the twentieth century: if Africans were hungry, it was because they didn't know how to feed themselves properly; they were ignorant of "how to live." As a result, growing scientistic impatience with African culture reconciled many white South Africans to the harsh policies of apartheid.In Starving on a Full Stomach: Hunger and the Triumph of Cultural Racism in Modern South Africa, Diana Wylie tells the story of the foods Africans ate and the maladies they suffered, while she shows the ways in which doctors and politicians understood and acted upon those experiences in modern African life. Wylie compares South Africa's food history with that of medieval Europe and modern America, and concludes by presenting some surprising similarities. Starving on a Full Stomach provides both a warning and a provocative framework that forces us to look at the continuing potential for misunderstanding and mismanagement of today's medical and food crises. Contents......Page 8 Figures......Page 10 Preface......Page 12 Introduction Starving on a Full Stomach: Hunger and Ideologies of Exclusion......Page 18 Hunger......Page 20 Historical Debates over Cultural Chauvinism and Scientific Hubris......Page 23 Part One Cultural Racism's Fertile Ground......Page 36 CHAPTER ONE European Cultural Pride An Evaluation......Page 38 The Drawing of Invidious Distinctions......Page 40 The Historical Foundation of Food Snobbery......Page 43 The Industrial Revolution Removes Hunger from Nature......Page 49 Conclusion......Page 54 CHAPTER TWO Before the Land Was Lost African Food Culture in the Nineteenth Century......Page 56 A Difficult Land......Page 57 Adaptability and Risk Aversion: A Zulu Case Study......Page 59 Conclusion......Page 69 Part Two The Benevolent Father An Embattled Rationale for White Supremacy......Page 74 CHAPTER THREE The Politics of Famine State Paternalism in Rural South Africa, 1910-1948......Page 76 State Paternalism......Page 78 Feeding the Hungry and Vetoing African Initiative: Pondoland, 1912......Page 81 Defending the Hungry: The Lebombo Flats, 1927......Page 90 Politicized Hunger and Bureaucratized Paternalism: The Eastern Cape, 1946......Page 95 Conclusion......Page 106 CHAPTER FOUR Scientific Paternalism Hunger and the Measurement of Urban Poverty, 1910-1948......Page 108 The Idea of the Bread Line......Page 110 The Social Scientists......Page 114 The Failure of Urban Paternalism......Page 125 Conclusion......Page 140 Part Three People without Science A Modern Rationale for White Supremacy......Page 142 CHAPTER FIVE The Threat of "Race Deterioration" Nutritional Research in Industrial Context......Page 144 Scurvy......Page 147 Debility......Page 160 Kwashiorkor......Page 171 Conclusion......Page 177 CHAPTER SIX Missionaries of Science The Growth of the Malnutrition Syndrome, 1920-1960......Page 180 Precursor to the Malnutrition Syndrome: Christian Healing at Holy Cross Hospital, 1920-1940......Page 182 The Fiscal and Medical Crises of the 1940s......Page 192 The Rise of the Malnutrition Syndrome and the Biomedical Clinic: Holy Cross Hospital in the 1950s......Page 196 The Malnutrition Syndrome and a Holistic Reaction to Biomedicine at the Valley Trust and Health Center, 1951-1960......Page 203 Care of the Land as Cause and Cure......Page 209 Conclusion......Page 215 Part Four The Triumph of Scientism and Cultural Essentialism......Page 218 CHAPTER SEVEN Denial and Coercion The State Response to the Malnutrition Syndrome, 1940s to 1960s......Page 220 The Entrenched Interests of White Farmers......Page 222 Wartime Idealism and the National Nutrition Council......Page 225 Denial of Responsibility for African Hunger......Page 232 Coercion......Page 242 Conclusion......Page 251 Epilogue The Heritage of Disrespect......Page 254 Abbreviations......Page 262 Introduction......Page 263 1. European Cultural Pride......Page 264 2. Before the Land Was Lost......Page 268 3. The Politics of Famine......Page 270 4. Scientific Paternalism......Page 275 5. The Threat of "Race Deterioration"......Page 280 6. Missionaries of Science......Page 287 7. Denial and Coercion......Page 292 Epilogue......Page 296 Manuscript Collections and Archives......Page 298 Selected Official Publications......Page 299 Selected Interviews by Author......Page 300 Selected Articles......Page 301 Selected Books......Page 307 Unpublished Sources......Page 314 Index......Page 316

An ideology of African ignorance that justified white supremacy grew up in South Africa during the first half of the twentieth century: if Africans were hungry, it was because they didn't know how to feed themselves properly; they were ignorant of how to live. As a result, growing scientistic impatience with African culture reconciled many white South Africans to the harsh policies of apartheid.

In Starving on a Full Stomach: Hunger and the Triumph of Cultural Racism in Modern South Africa, Diana Wylie tells the story of the foods Africans ate and the maladies they suffered, while she shows the ways in which doctors and politicians understood and acted upon those experiences in modern African life.

Wylie compares South Africa's food history with that of medieval Europe and modern America, and concludes by presenting some surprising similarities. Starving on a Full Stomach provides both a warning and a provocative framework that forces us to look at the continuing potential for misunderstanding and mismanagement of today's medical and food crises.

University of Virginia Press

Annotation An ideology of African ignorance that justified white supremacy grew up in South Africa during the first half of the twentieth century: if Africans were hungry, it was because they didn't know how to feed themselves properly; they were ignorant of "how to live." As a result, growing scientistic impatience with African culture reconciled many white South Africans to the harsh policies of apartheid. In Starving on a Full Stomach: Hunger and the Triumph of Cultural Racism in Modern South Africa, Diana Wylie tells the story of the foods Africans ate and the maladies they suffered, while she shows the ways in which doctors and politicians understood and acted upon those experiences in modern African life. Wylie compares South Africa's food history with that of medieval Europe and modern America, and concludes by presenting some surprising similarities. Starving on a Full Stomach provides both a warning and a provocative framework that forces us to look at the continuing potential for misunderstanding and mismanagement of today's medical and food crises An ideology of African ignorance that justified white supremacy grew up in South Africa during the first half of the twentieth century: if Africans were hungry, it was because they didn't know how to feed themselves properly; they were ignorant of "how to live". As a result, growing scientistic impatience with African culture reconciled many white South Africans to the harsh policies of apartheid.In Starving on a Full Stomach: Hunger and the Triumph of Cultural Racism in Modern South Africa, Diana Wylie tells the story of the foods Africans ate and the maladies they suffered, while she shows the ways in which doctors and politicians understood and acted upon those experiences in African life.Wylie compares South Africa's food history with that of medieval Europe and modern America, and she concludes by presenting some surprising similarities. Starving on a Full Stomach provides both a warning and a provocative framework that forces us to consider the continuing potential for mismanagement and misunderstanding of today's medical and food crises. Wylie (history, Boston U.) takes her title from the response of one African's 1938 reply to whites inquiring about the health of his community. His complaint that people were "starving on a full stomach" is taken by her as an example of how the loss of traditional agricultures and the transition to a cash-based economy led to endemic and class-based malnutrition. Efforts to address this problem by whites were, more often than not, hindered by cultural and racial blinders, even if those attempting to help were often well meaning. Wylie examines the history of these sometimes-sincere efforts of "experts" to frame arguments of popular nutrition, national well- being, and ethics. The resulting work explores the politics of food as it was practiced in urban townships, periurban plots, and rural reserves in modern South Africa under Apartheid. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)