Woman as healer : [a panoramic survey of the healing activities of women from prehistoric times to the present

This groundbreaking work examines the role of women in the Western healing traditions. Drawing on the disciplines of history, anthropology, botany, archaeology, and the behavioral sciences, Jeanne Achterberg discusses the ancient cultures in which women worked as independent and honored healers; the persecution of women healers in the witch hunts of the Middle Ages; the development of midwifery and nursing as women's professions in the nineteenth century; and the current role of women and the state of the healing arts, as a time of crisis in the health-care professions coincides with the reemergence of feminine values. Library Journal Healing has always been regarded as a sacred function, one that was at first inextricably linked to women. Achterberg argues that the way in which society views its deities is fundamental to the status of women in medicine. This book traces the history of women as healers, midwives, nurses, and doctors from ancient times to modern. Intertwined with this history is an analysis of each society's cosmology, which determines whether women healers will be suppressed or encouraged. The result is a series of compelling stories of knowledge practiced and then lost through cultural change and suppression. Achterberg ranges from an eloquent and cogent analysis of the medieval witch trials to an incisive analysis of health care education and the health care professions in the 20th century. Highly recommended for academic and public libraries.-- Gail Wood, Montgomery Coll. Lib., Germantown, Md. A Panoramic Survey Of The Healing Activities Of Women From Prehistori Times To The Present.--cover. Introduction -- Part One: Medicine Woman: The Ancient Cosmic Connection -- The Primeval Turning Points -- Sumer: The Birth And Death Of A Culture -- Denmark: Woman As A Shaman -- The Healing Legacy From Greece -- Women Of Rome -- Brilliant Early Christian Flowering -- Medieval Christian Cosmology -- Part Two: Woman And The Genesis Of Scientific Thought -- The Tapestry -- Women Healers As Heretics: Philosophic Foundation -- Fate Of The Wise Woman -- Absent At The Birth Of Modern Medicine -- Part Three: Woman And The Professionalization Of The Healing Arts -- Gender And The Health Professions -- Midwifery: The Mysterious Office -- Every Woman Her Own Doctor: The Popular Health Movement -- The Warriors: Doctors, Nurses And Ministers -- Part Four: Twentieth-century Women And The State Of The Healing Arts And Sciences -- Woman As Health-care Provider: Realities Of The Marketplace -- Life In The Balance. Jeanne Achterberg. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 223-232) And Index. This groundbreaking work examines the role of the feminine in the Western healing traditions. Drawing upon anthropology, history, botany, archaeology and the behaviorial sciences, Dr. Achterberg discusses the ancient cultures in which women worked as honored healers; the persecuted healers of the witch trial era; midwifery and nursing in the 19th century; and the developing healing arts of our time. 10 halftones.