An (American) Transnational Environmental History of Smallpox Eradication

Bob H. Reinhardt

An (American) Transnational Environmental History of Smallpox Eradication

Carnegie Mellon University

Research output: Contribution to conference › Presentation

Abstract

<div class="line" id="line-5"> I approach smallpox eradication from the perspective of an environmental historian of the US-in-a-globalizing-world. I argue that smallpox eradication should be understood as a transnational effort to master the nonhuman natural world, animated by the drive to improve human health and the pursuit of US foreign policy objectives. In this story, the virus itself—as both a real thing as well as an idea—is an active character, provoking attention and action. But more broadly, the human/nonhuman natural world dynamic is at the center of this story, and it’s the way of making sense of this remarkable event in human history and all the different contexts in which it took place: the Cold War, American liberalism, postcolonialism, and the age of global terror. What emerges from this approach is both a celebration of the accomplishments of eradication and also a recognition of the limits and complex legacies of the program. Specifically, this story suggests, perhaps counter-intuitively, that the intersection of American liberalism and the Cold War, often framed in catastrophic terms, sometimes fostered remarkable successes—but also troubling limits.</div><div class="line" id="line-18"> <br/></div><div class="line" id="line-15"> <u> Learning Objectives </u></div><div class="line" id="line-23"> <br/></div><ol> <li class="line" id="line-21"> Develop the capacity for critical thinking about the nature, ends and limits of medicine </li> <li class="line" id="line-32"> Identify successes and failures in the history of medical professionalism </li> <li class="line" id="line-42"> Recognize the dynamic interrelationship between medicine and society through history </li></ol>

Original language	American English
State	Published - 10 May 2014
Externally published	Yes
Event	2014 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the History of Medicine - Chicago, IL Duration: 10 May 2014 → …

Conference

Conference	2014 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the History of Medicine
Period	10/05/14 → …

EGS Disciplines

History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
United States History

Cite this

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title = "An (American) Transnational Environmental History of Smallpox Eradication",

abstract = " I approach smallpox eradication from the perspective of an environmental historian of the US-in-a-globalizing-world. I argue that smallpox eradication should be understood as a transnational effort to master the nonhuman natural world, animated by the drive to improve human health and the pursuit of US foreign policy objectives. In this story, the virus itself—as both a real thing as well as an idea—is an active character, provoking attention and action. But more broadly, the human/nonhuman natural world dynamic is at the center of this story, and it’s the way of making sense of this remarkable event in human history and all the different contexts in which it took place: the Cold War, American liberalism, postcolonialism, and the age of global terror. What emerges from this approach is both a celebration of the accomplishments of eradication and also a recognition of the limits and complex legacies of the program. Specifically, this story suggests, perhaps counter-intuitively, that the intersection of American liberalism and the Cold War, often framed in catastrophic terms, sometimes fostered remarkable successes—but also troubling limits. Learning Objectives Develop the capacity for critical thinking about the nature, ends and limits of medicine Identify successes and failures in the history of medical professionalism Recognize the dynamic interrelationship between medicine and society through history ",

author = "Reinhardt, {Bob H.}",

year = "2014",

month = may,

day = "10",

language = "American English",

note = "2014 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the History of Medicine ; Conference date: 10-05-2014",

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T1 - An (American) Transnational Environmental History of Smallpox Eradication

AU - Reinhardt, Bob H.

PY - 2014/5/10

Y1 - 2014/5/10

N2 - I approach smallpox eradication from the perspective of an environmental historian of the US-in-a-globalizing-world. I argue that smallpox eradication should be understood as a transnational effort to master the nonhuman natural world, animated by the drive to improve human health and the pursuit of US foreign policy objectives. In this story, the virus itself—as both a real thing as well as an idea—is an active character, provoking attention and action. But more broadly, the human/nonhuman natural world dynamic is at the center of this story, and it’s the way of making sense of this remarkable event in human history and all the different contexts in which it took place: the Cold War, American liberalism, postcolonialism, and the age of global terror. What emerges from this approach is both a celebration of the accomplishments of eradication and also a recognition of the limits and complex legacies of the program. Specifically, this story suggests, perhaps counter-intuitively, that the intersection of American liberalism and the Cold War, often framed in catastrophic terms, sometimes fostered remarkable successes—but also troubling limits. Learning Objectives Develop the capacity for critical thinking about the nature, ends and limits of medicine Identify successes and failures in the history of medical professionalism Recognize the dynamic interrelationship between medicine and society through history

AB - I approach smallpox eradication from the perspective of an environmental historian of the US-in-a-globalizing-world. I argue that smallpox eradication should be understood as a transnational effort to master the nonhuman natural world, animated by the drive to improve human health and the pursuit of US foreign policy objectives. In this story, the virus itself—as both a real thing as well as an idea—is an active character, provoking attention and action. But more broadly, the human/nonhuman natural world dynamic is at the center of this story, and it’s the way of making sense of this remarkable event in human history and all the different contexts in which it took place: the Cold War, American liberalism, postcolonialism, and the age of global terror. What emerges from this approach is both a celebration of the accomplishments of eradication and also a recognition of the limits and complex legacies of the program. Specifically, this story suggests, perhaps counter-intuitively, that the intersection of American liberalism and the Cold War, often framed in catastrophic terms, sometimes fostered remarkable successes—but also troubling limits. Learning Objectives Develop the capacity for critical thinking about the nature, ends and limits of medicine Identify successes and failures in the history of medical professionalism Recognize the dynamic interrelationship between medicine and society through history

M3 - Presentation

T2 - 2014 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the History of Medicine

Y2 - 10 May 2014

ER -

An (American) Transnational Environmental History of Smallpox Eradication

Abstract

Conference

EGS Disciplines

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Cite this