WELCOME.
MY NAME IS JEFF REZNICK.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US TODAY
AS WE KICK OFF THE 2022 SERIES
OF ALL VIRTUAL NLM HISTORY
TALKS.
AND FOR THOSE OF YOU ON Twitter
Twitter THANK YOU FOR FOLLOWING
ALONG.
WE PROMOTE AWARENESS FOR
RESEARCH AND EDUCATION AND
PUBLIC SERVICE FOR BIOMEDICINE
AND THE HUMANITIES.
ALSO SUPPORTS THE COMMITMENT OF
THE NLM TO RECOGNIZE THE
DIVERSITY AND ORIGINATE FROM
EVERY PART OF THE GLOBE.
AND ALSO THE TALKS -- OF PEOPLE
OF COLOR AND DISCIPLINARY
BACKGROUNDS WHO USE THESE
COLLECTIONS TO ADVANCE THEIR
RESEARCH AND THEIR TEACHING AND
THEIR LEARNING.
WE SUPPLEMENT WITH SPEAKER
INTERVIEWS ON OUR BLOG
CIRCULATING NOW.
I'LL ADD THAT NLM HISTORY TALKS
ARE MADE POSSIBLE BY THE
OUTSTANDING TEAM HERE AT THE
NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE AND
THE VIDEO CASTING AND I WANT TO
THANK THEM FOR BRINGING THIS TO
YOU THE PUBLIC FOR FREE.
THE NEXT TALK TO BE OFFERED BY
DR. DEIDRA COOPER OWENS.
JOINING US ON THURSDAY
FEBRUARY 10th AT 2:00 P.M.
EASTERN TIME TO HEAR DR. OWENS
SPEAK ON WHAT HISTORY REVEALS.
TODAY I HAVE THE GREAT PLEASURE
AND PRIVILEGE OF INTRODUCING
DR. ALEXANDRE WHITE FROM JOHNS
HOPKINS UNIVERSITY AND SCHOOL OF
MEDICINE.
DR. WHITE JOINED THE HOPKINS
FACULTY IN 2019 AFTER COMPLETING
A FELLOWSHIP AT HOPKINS.
DR. WHITE'S RESEARCH IS LOCATED
AT THE INTERSECTION OF SOCIOLOGY
OF RACE AND GLOBAL SOCIAL
SOCIOLOGY.
DR. WHITE HAS PUBLISHED
EXTENSIVELY IN SOCIAL SCIENCE
JOURNALS ON THE TOPICS OF
RACISM, AND SLAVERY.
DR. WHITE IS THE EDITOR OF THE
HISTORICAL SOCIOLOGY OF RACE AND
RACISM AND HE HAS PUBLISHED IN
MEDICAL JOURNALS.
DR. WHITE'S FIRST BOOK HAS BEEN
SEND AND IS FORTHCOMING AT
STANFORD UNIVERSITY PReS.
THIS BOOK EXPLORES HOW EPIDEMIC
THREATS BECOME THE FOCUS OF
INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT,
REGULATION AND CONTROL AS WELL
AS THE RACIAL IDEOLOGIEST THAT
HAVE SHAPED COORDINATION TO STOP
PANDEMIC SPREAD.
DR. WHITE HAS PRODUCED A FURTHER
LINE OF RESEARCH TO ADDRESS THE
CHALLENGES OF THIS CONTINUING
PANDEMIC SUPPORTED BY GRANTS
FROM THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF
CHILD HEALTH AND HUMAN
DEVELOPMENT HE HAS WORKED TO
DEVELOP A COVID-19 SOCIAL
SCIENCE DATA HUB.
THIS COLLECTS AND MANAGES COUNTY
LEVEL DATA ON SOCIO DEMOGRAPHIC
AND HEALTH FACTORS THAT
INFLUENCE THE SPREAD OF
COVID-19.
HE HAS HELPED TO DRAFT
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SAFE AND
COLLABORATIVE VACCINE DELIVERY
TO MINORITY POPULATIONS IN THE
UNITED STATES.
THIS REPORT WAS PUBLISHED BY THE
JOHNS HOPKINS CENTER FOR HEALTH
SECURITY AND IN THE JOURNAL OF
HEALTH SECURITY AND ALSO
PROFILED IN THE WASHINGTON POST,
THE "NEW YORK TIMES" AND OTHER
MEDIA OUTLETS.
AS ANNEX PERMANENT IN RESPONSES
HE HAS BRIEFED CONGRESS ON
COVID-19.
AND HAS BEEN INTERVIEWED FOR
ROUGHLY 30 MINUTE ON-LINE AND
TELEVISION NEWS REPORTS BY
OUTLETS INCLUDING CNN, THE
WASHINGTON POST, THE "NEW YORK
TIMES," NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO
AND OTHERS.
HE JOINS US TODAY TO SHARE
ASPECTS OF HIS RESEARCH RELATED
TO HIS FORTHCOMING BOOK.
PLEASE JOIN ME IN WELCOMING HIM.
DR. WHITE, OVER TO YOU AND
SINCERE THANKS FOR YOUR TIME
WITH US TODAY
>> THANK YOU SO MUCH AND THANK
YOU FOR SUCH A WARM INTRODUCTION
AND FOR HAVING ME.
IT'S REALLY A PLEASURE.
THE NLM HAS BEEN AN AMAZING
RESOURCE IN MY WORK AND IN MY
RESEARCH AND ALSO FOR MY
STUDENTS WHO I TEACH AT JOHNS
HOPKINS SO IT'S A REAL PLEASURE.
SO WHAT I WANT TO SPEAK ABOUT
TODAY REALLY PERTAINS TO THE
BOOK THAT JEFFREY MENTIONED THAT
I'M WORKING ON AND WILL BE
COMING OUT THIS YEAR, EPIDEMIC
-- AND HOW OUR WORK AND THE
MATERIALS WITHIN THE ARCHIVES
NOT ONLY EXPLAIN TO US HOW PAST
PANDEMICS WERE RESPONDED TO BUT
ALSO THE SORT OF MEANING MAKING
CENTERS THAT EMERGE AROUND
PANDEMICS AND THE WAYS IN WHICH
WE CAN THINK ABOUT HOW PANDEMICS
PRODUCE MEANING.
SO I WANT TO BEGIN ACTUALLY --
IN THE 19th CENTURY WITH A
PARTICULAR QUOTE FROM MARY
SHELLEY.
WHICH I'LL READ.
"I SPREAD THE WHOLE EARTH OUT IS
A A MAP BEFORE ME.
ON NO ONE SPOT OR SURFACE CAN I
SAY HERE IS SAFETY.
IN THE SOUTH THE DISEASE VERIFY
LANCE -- HAVE NEARLY ANNIHILATED
THE RACE OF MAN.
THEY FILLED UP THE MEASURE OF
SUFFERING.
[ READING FROM SCREEN ]
>> NOW WHEN MARY WAS WRITING HER
MASTERPIECE THE LAST MAN SHE
PROBABLY WOULD HAVE BEEN AWARE
OF THE EPIDEMICS SPREADING.
IN HER BOOK WHICH ENVISION A
GLOBAL PANDEMIC IN TO 94 SHE
LOCATES THE SEED OF DISEASE OF
SPREAD IN THE BRITISH EMPIRE
EASTWARD.
IT UNLEASHES THE PLAGUE AFTER
TRAVELING FROM ASIA INTO EGYPT.
THE JUST POSITION -- * ECHOED IN
THE SIEGE AND THIS OPENING
QUOTATIONS ENCAPSULATES THE
DESTABILIZING REALITIES MADE
POSSIBLE BY INVASION AROUND THE
WORLD.
IN THE 19th CENTER THEY BEGAN
TO SPREAD BACK FROM THE COLONIAL
DOMINIONS BACK FUNDAMENTALLY TO
THE WESTERN YOUR RESPECT.
SHELLEY'S VISION IS A OF A DYING
WORLD.
THE PHENOMENA OF PANDEMIC
CATASTROPHE AND THE PLAYING THAT
FOLLOWED CREPT FROM BRITISH
COLONIAL DOMINION AND TO BRITAIN
ITSELF.
SHELLEY SPREAD THE WHOLE EARTH
AS A MAP.
BUT LIKE ALL SCIENCE FICTION SHE
MAY WELL HAVE BEEN AHEAD OF HER
TIME.
HER NARRATIVE BEGINS WITH AN EYE
CAST TO THE SOUTH.
WHERE IT'S VIRULENT AND
UNTREATABLE MOVING CLOSER TO THE
NORTH THE DISEASE RAVAGES LANDS
NEARER TO HOME UNTIL FOCUSING
OFF BRITAIN.
SHELLEY COULD NOT HAVE KNOWN
WITH ANY CERTAINTY THAT THE WAY
OF SEEING AND DIVIDING THE WORLD
WILL BECOME IN MANY WAYS A
DOMINANT FRAME THROUGH WHICH
DISEASE THREAT WOULD BE
UNDERSTOOD.
SHE SKETCHES OUT SEVERAL ASPECTS
OF WHAT I SHOULD BE CALLING
EPIDEMIC ORIENTALISM.
IT IS BASED ON THE WAYS OF THE
PEST AND HOW IT HAS COME TO SEE
ITSELF IN RELATION TO THE
RESPIRATORY OF THE WORLD.
IT IS MUCH CLEARER NOW FAR FROM
SIGNIFYING TO LIFE AS ALSO AN
ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL PHENOMENA
WHICH PRODUCES CASCADING
EFFECTS.
AS WELL AS THE EX PROSER OF THE
HEALTH EFFECTS OF RACISM AND ITS
STARK VIOLENT DISPARITIES.
SO THE HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL
INFECTIOUS CONTROL WHICH I WANT
TO TALK ABOUT TODAY AND
REGULATION HAS BEEN ONE IN WHICH
POWER IMPERIAL EUROPEAN AND
NORTH AMERICAN NATIONS HAS HELD
THEMSELVES UP AS THE EX'EM WHAT
OFFICERS OF HEALTH AND HYGIENE
AT RISK OF THE DISEASES FOR MUCH
OF THE REST OF THE WORLD.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE RATIONALS AND
JUSTIFICATION FOR INTERNATIONAL
COOPERATION OVER INFECTIOUS
DISEASE CONTROL.
HOW DID EPIDEMICS BECOME THE
OBJECT OF REGULATION.
AND HOW DO THEY BECOME THE FOCUS
OF INTERNATIONAL RESPONSES AND
WHICH DO NOT.
AND THE ARGUMENT IS THAT IN
ORDER TO UNDERSTAND HOW GLOBAL
HEALTH PRIORITIES ARE SET FOR
INTERNATIONAL DISEASE RESPONSE
HOW INFECTIOUS DISEASES ARE
ADDRESSED AND REGULATED IT'S NOT
SUFFICIENT TO EXAMINE THE
EPIDEMIOLOGICAL -- EPIDEMICS.
WE MUST LOCATE THE EPIDEMIC
THREAT WITHIN THE LANDSCAPES OF
THE MEANING IN WHICH THEY ARE
SITUATED.
EPIDEMICS HAVE BEEN CONSTITUTED
AS DYNAMIC AND COMPLEX FORCES
REPRESENTING A BIOLOGICAL THREAT
TO LIFE BUT ALSO TO TRADE AND
TRAVEL AND ECONOMIC ENTERPRISE.
TO READ AND UNDERSTAND THESE
EMERGENCIES IS TO FLATTEN THEIR
MANIFOLD SIGNIFICANCE TO A
VARIETY OF DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF
SOCIAL LIFE.
RECEIPT RESPONSES TO THEM, WE
MUST LOCATE THEM THE ACTORS AND
OTHER INSTITUTIONS OF POLITICAL
FORCES AND ORGANIZE RESPONSES TO
THEM WITHIN THESE LANDSCAPES OF
MEANING.
THE HISTORICALLY SITUATED MODES
OF THOUGHT -- THAT DETERMINE HOW
AND WHY CERTAIN RESPONSES EMERGE
AND THE FORMS THEY TAKE.
EPIDEMICS FAR FROM BEING -- A
PHENOMENA -- REGULATED BY HUMAN
PRODUCED -- THAT LEGISLATE THE
RESPONSES TO THEM.
AND THESE REGULATIONS TOO
THEREFORE OPERATE ACCORDING TO
CERTAIN LOGICS.
AND ANTICIPATE PARTICULAR TYPES
OF THREATS AND NOT OTHERS.
WHY THEY FORM THE STRUCTURES
THEY DO AND HOW THIS IS AFFECTED
OUR VISIONS OF EPIDEMIC
EMERGENCY.
SO ANY SCHOLAR REALLY
FUNDAMENTALLY ENGAGING WITH
QUESTIONS OF POWER FROM A PLACE
OF ANALYSIS AND ASYMMETRIC
ANALYSIS MUST CONSIDER THE ROLE
OF SOURCES.
WHO'S DRIVING THE NARRATIVE.
ANALYSIS OF HOW CERTAIN
STRUCTURES COME TO BE AND THE
STRUGGLES ASSOCIATED WITH THEM.
THE MAJORITY OF MY RESEARCH
FOCUSES ON THE EMERGENCE OF THE
INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS AND
INTERNATIONAL HEALTH REGULATIONS
WHICH EXIST TODAY AND I'LL TALK
ABOUT THEM IN A LITTLE BIT BUT I
DREW SIGNIFICANTLY FROM THE
MATERIALS OF THE INTERNATIONAL
LIBRARY OF MEDICINE IN PART
BECAUSE THE NLM HAS ONE OF THE
ONLY FULL AND COMPLETE RECORDS
OF THE MEETINGS MINUTES AND
PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONFERENCES
THAT PRODUCED THE FIRST
INTERNATIONAL SANITARY
REGULATIONS FOR THE CONTROL OF
INFECTIOUS DISEASE.
SO THERE ARE STORIES OF LARGE
BUREAUCRACIES AND INTERNATIONAL
OFFICIALS AND MAJOR VOICES
WITHIN THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY.
I WANT US TO THINK ABOUT THIS IN
TERMS OF SOMETHING THAT WAS
WRITTEN ABOUT -- IN THE
FOUNDATIONAL PIECE.
WHEN WE THINK ABOUT EPIDEMICS WE
MUST THINK ABOUT THEM AS NOT
CREATING NORMAL SITUATIONS BUT
SHARPENING EXISTING BEHAVIORS
WHICH BETRAY SOCIAL IMBALANCES
AND WE CAN SEE THE WAYS IN WHICH
THESE ROOTED AND CONTINUING
SOCIAL IMBALANCES OPERATE IN
EPIDEMICS ESPECIALLY WHILE WE'RE
LIVING THROUGH THEM BUT ALSO
WHILE LOOKING AT THE HISTORIES
OF HUMAN RESPONSES TO EPIDEMIC
THREAT.
SO WHEN WE THINK ABOUT EPIDEMICS
WE TRADITIONALLY IN TERMS OF
SCHOLARSHIP WE HAVE SEVERAL
ASSUMPTIONS THAT ARE MADE THAT I
THINK BEAR SOME CHALLENGING AND
SOME COMPLEXITY.
ACUTE FAST SPREADING EPIDEMICS
HAVE NOT BEEN IN THE DOMAIN OF
SOCIAL ANALYSIS.
BECAUSE THEY OCCUR QUICKLY AND
SEEM TO DISSIPATE BEFORE
SUSTAINED ETHNO GRAPHIC OR
CRITICAL INQUIRY IS POSSIBLE.
CERTAINLY THE EPIDEMICS -- SUCH
AS AIDS HAVE RESHAPED SOCIAL
THOUGHT IN NUMEROUS WAYS.
THE MOST SUSTAINED RESEARCH IN
WHAT I CALL ACUTE EPIDEMIC SUCH
AS EBOLA IN WEST AFRICA AND ZIKA
VIRUS OR YELLOW FEVER MOST OFTEN
ARISE IN A FUZZY DOMAIN OF
GLOBAL HEALTH RESEARCH WHERE
FOLKS BY AND LARGE ON THE
CONCERNS AND HEALTH PROBLEMS
OCCURRING IN THE DEVELOPING
WORLD LEAVING SPACES LIKE EUROPE
AND NORTH AMERICA OUTSIDE THE
REALM OF ANALYSIS.
WHETHER INTENTIONAL OR NOT MUCH
OF THE THOUGHT PRODUCED WITHIN
THE DOMAIN OF GLOBAL HEALTH BY
ITS FOCUS ON THE DEVELOPING
WORLD PERHAPS WOULD OVER ASSUME
THE DIFFERENCES IN DYNAMICS
SHAPING RESPONSES AND CRISIS
BASED ON THIS DISTINCTION
BETWEEN THE WEST AND THE REST OF
THE WORLD.
AND THE EARLY 20th CENTURY
WITNESSED AN EPIDEMIOLOGICAL
TRANSITION AND CAUSES OF
MORTALITY.
CERTAINLY IMPORTANT
CONTRIBUTIONS TO UNDERSTANDING
OF GERM THEORY, CONSTANT ON AND
THE ISOLATION OF PATHOGENS MADE
INFECTIOUS DISEASES SOMETHING
THAT COULD BE CONTROLLED.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF SANITATION
SYSTEMS IN MUCH OF EUROPE AND
NORTH AMERICA MADE FOOD AND
WATER BOURNE DISEASES A FAR
LESSER CONCERN MAKING CITIES
MORE FAVORABLE THAN RURAL
ENVIRONMENTS.
POLICY AND PUBLIC HEALTH
MEASURES SHIFTED QUESTIONS
TOWARDS QUESTIONS OF CHRONIC
DISEASE.
ISSUES OF SOCIAL MEDICINE AND
POPULATION HEALTH.
THE ERADICATION OF SMALLPOX AND
POLIO AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF
VACCINES AGAINST CHILDHOOD
DISEASES HAVE MADE THESE
ILLNESSES IN THE WEST A CONCERN
ONLY IF THERE IS SIGNIFICANT
LACK OF VACCINATION.
BY THE 1980s THERE WAS
FUNDAMENTALLY SOME OPTIMISM THAT
THE ERA OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE
MAY BE OVER FOR HUMANITY.
HIV/AIDS SHATTERED THIS BELIEF
EVEN THOUGH -- AFTER HUNDREDS OF
MILLIONS OF LIVES HAVE BEEN LOST
HIV/AIDS HAS BECOME A CHRONIC
DISEASE THAN CONTROLLED AND
MANAGED.
THE DYNAMICS OF WHICH SHIFT BY
GEOGRAPHY AND ACCESS TO HEALTH
RESOURCES AND APATHY.
INDEED BIOMEDICAL AND TECHNICAL
OPTIMISM LED TO THE SOMEWHAT
COMFORTABLE ACCEPTANCE OF
LEADERS AND MANY IN EUROPE AND
NORTH AMERICA THAT MAJOR
EPIDEMICS OR PANDEMICS
ESPECIALLY OF NOVEL DISEASES ARE
RARER AND UNLIKELY TO OCCUR IN
AS DEVASTATING FASHION AS THEY
CAN IN THE REST OF THE WORLD.
-- HE SUBJECTED THAT HE WOULD
HAPPILY SIT NEXT TO AN EBOLA
SUFFERING ON THE TUBE.
BECAUSE OF THE DYNAMICS OF THE
CONTAGION AND THE HEALTH SYSTEMS
THAT IT WAS VERY UNLIKELY THAT
THE EPIDEMIC DYNAMICS -- COULD
OCCUR IN BRITAIN.
IN THIS MOMENT OF THAT WEST
AFRICAN EPIDEMIC IT WAS
SUBJECTED THAT THE CRISIS PLAYED
OUT BY MEDIA OUTLETS OR PHONES
AND TELEVISIONS WOULD NOT OCCUR
OVER HERE.
THE SCENES OF DOCTORS -- WERE
PORTRAYED AS A GHASTLY REMINDER
OF THE LIMITED CAPACITIES.
IN PLACES FAR AWAY FROM THE
EPICENTER OF THE EPIDEMIC WE
WATCHED VICTIMS THAT DIED LONELY
DEATH.
WITHOUT FORMAL CEREMONIES
CARRIED OUT BY THEIR FAMILIES.
IT WAS BLAMED ON "WEST AFRICAN
SOCIAL PRACTICES" AND MIST TRUST
IN DOCTORS.
*.
SOCIAL DISTANCING PRACTICES,
ISOLATION AND QUARANTINE AND
CURFEWS WERE SEEN AS A
SCRAMBLING PRACTICE OF A BYGONE
ERA.
THESE TROPES OF CHAOS -- HARKEN
BACK TO THE EARLY 2st
CENTURY DISCUSSIONS ABOUT SOUTH
PRESIDENT'S -- AND CLAIMS OF THE
DISEASE THAT COULD BE PREVENTED
BY SHOWERING.
AND WOULD HIGHLIGHT PERHAPS AND
ADMIT THE CRACKS THAT ARE
EMERGING.
SO TO BEAR WITNESS I WOULD ARGUE
IN THE WEST IS TO PERPETUATE AN
EXCISE -- IS THROUGH
INTERNATIONAL CONTROLS THE WEST
IS ABLE TO SEPARATE ITSELF FROM
THE PARTS OF THE WORLD SUFFERING
FROM INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND
THUS IT IS SOMEWHAT SUPERIOR IN
ITS CIVILIZATION.
THE ELIMINATION OF THE 19th
AND 20th CENTURY ARE SOME OF
THE MOST -- -- THE CONSTRUCTION
-- BUILT FROM EPIDEMIC CONTROL
OBSCURES THE WAYS IN WHICH IT IS
BUILT ON HISTORY AND MAINTAINED
EFFECTIVE SYSTEMS OF DISEASE
CONTROL --
TO MAINTAIN POLITICAL POWER IN
THE WORLD.
SIMILARLY WE LIKE TO THINK THERE
IS A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE BETWEEN
PERHAPS THE PERIOD OF GLOBAL
HEALTH FROM THE 1940s AND
1950s TO THE PRESENT VERSUS
THE WHAT IS CALLED THE ERAS OF
COLONIAL MEDICINE PRIOR.
AS WE LOOK AT SOME OF THE
MATERIAL I'M PRESENTING TODAY
THAT THESE HISTORIES AND IDEAS
OF DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN THESE
PERIODS ESPECIALLY IN THE WAY
THAT WE THINK OF EPIDEMIC
THOUGHT IT MAY NOT BE AS
DISTANT.
THE INTERNATIONAL SANITARY
CONVENTIONS TODAY EXIST SOMEWHAT
OUT OF TIME OUT OF STEP AND
LOGICS OF INTERNATIONAL HEALTH.
SO HOW DOES A DISEASE EVENT
BECOME AN EPIDEMIC?
THIS IS A QUESTION OF MEETING
MAKING AND SOCIO LOGICAL
INQUIRY.
THE QUESTION MAY LEAD US IN AN
EPIDEMIOLOGICAL DIRECTION.
IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND THE
THREAT.
THIS APPROACH MIGHT PROVIDE
TECHNIQUES AND POLICIES AND
PRACTICES OF PUBLIC HEALTH.
7 SUPPORTED BY NATIONAL AND
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS LIKE
THE U.S. CENTERS FOR DISEASE
CONTROL AND THE WORLD HEALTH
ORGANIZATION TO RESPOND TO THE
NATIONAL PHENOMENA.
THIS MAY EXPLAIN THE PRACTICES
AND POLICIES PUT IN PLACE TO
ACCESS HOW AN EPIDEMIC EMERGENCE
AND HOW A THREAT IS DEFINED
THROUGH POLICY AND BEST
PRACTICES.
THE ANALYSIS MAY PROVIDE US WITH
AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHY CERTAIN
CALCULATIONS WERE MADE AND HOW
AN EPIDEMIC WAS DEFINED.
HOWEVER WHAT SYSTEMS OF
KNOWLEDGES RELATIONS OF POWER
AND PRACTICES OF BUREAUCRATIC
RATIONALIZATION -- OF AN
EPIDEMIC THAT ALLOWS FOR THE
CREATION OF POLICIES TO CONTROL
THEIR SPREAD.
WHAT ARE THE GOVERNING LOGICS OF
CONTROL.
WHAT SORTS OF METABOLIC AND
SOCIAL CONNECTIONS ARE ASSUMED
OR MADE LEGIBLE AND HOW DO THESE
AFFECT THE CONSTRUCTION AND
RESPONSES TO EPIDEMIC EMERGENCY?
TO EXPLORE THOSE QUESTIONS I
LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF THE
INTERNATIONAL SANITARY
CONVENTIONS AND THE WIDER
UNIVERSE OF WHAT I CALL
INTERNATIONAL INFECTIOUS DISEASE
CONTROL.
SO SINCE 1851 THE INTERNATIONAL
SPREAD OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE HAS
BEEN THE FOCUS OF INTERNATIONAL
COORDINATION AND CONCERN AND A
SINGLE SET OF REGULATIONS HAVE
LARGELY GOVERNED THIS.
OVER 30 YEARS BEFORE THE
CONFERENCE WHICH ESTABLISHED THE
STANDARD 24 HOUR DAY BEGINNING
AND ENDING IN GREENWICH IN
EUROPE.
THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL SANITARY
CONFERENCES TO ESTABLISH A
GLOBAL SANITARY ORDER.
THESE CONFERENCES DID NOT SET
OUT TO ESTABLISH GLOBAL HEALTH
REGULATIONS -- THEY AIMED TO
PRODUCE STANDARD AGREEMENTS FOR
THE EFFECTIVE CONTROL OF DISEASE
WITHOUT INJURING GLOBAL TRADE.
FROM 1851 TO 1938 -- 14
CONFERENCES WERE HELD.
IN 1892 THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL
SANITARY CONVENTIONS WERE
ADOPTED CODIFYING THE FIRST
AGREEMENTS.
THESE CONVENTIONS AIMED TO
MAXIMIZE PROTECTION FROM DISEASE
WITH MINIMUM AFFECTS TO TRADE
AND TRAVEL.
SO UNLIKE OTHER AREAS OF
INTERNATIONAL GLOBAL HEALTH SUCH
AS PROJECTS OF DISEASE
ERADICATION OR THE ANTIHIV/AIDS
PROJECTS -- ALL OF WHICH SEEK
SOME SORT OF EQUITY IN GLOBAL
HEALTH OUTCOME THE DOMAIN OF IN
FIX DISEASE REGULATIONS HAS
SIGNIFICANT UNIFORMITY IN ITS
VISION.
THEY WOULD BECOME AFTER THE
EMERGENCE OF THE WHO THE
INTERNATIONAL SANITARY
REGULATIONS AND LATER THE
INTERNATIONAL HEALTH REGULATIONS
WHICH WE HAVE TODAY WHICH WERE
REVISED IN 2005 AND ARE NOW
SLATED TO BE REVISED IN LIGHT OF
COVID-19.
AND WHAT IS FASCINATING IS THE
UNIFORMITY IN THE OVER-ALL
VISION OF THESE REGULATIONS FROM
THE 19th CENTURY TO THE
PRESENT.
THE MANDATE IS THE SAME TODAY AS
IT WAS IN THE 1890s.
THE MAXIMUM PREVENTION AND
SPREAD OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE
WITH A MINIMUM AFFECT TO TRADE
AND TRAVEL.
THEY CAN THREATEN GLOBAL
ECONOMIC ORDERS THEY ENGAGED IN
A PROJECT OF SIGNIFY INDICATE OF
MEANING MAKING.
IN THE INTEREST OF EUROPE AND
NORTH AMERICA.
THE CREATION OF THESE
CONVENTIONS AND REGULATIONS ARE
NOT ONLY A MATTER OF SEEKING TO
PROTECT EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA
BUT ALSO ACT AS AUTHORING WHAT
HAS BECOME A VISION OF -- INTO
BEING AND FOR THIS I WANT TO
TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE THEORIES
THAT I DRAW UPON BEFORE I ENGAGE
YOU WITH MORE.
AND I DRAW SPECIFICALLY FROM THE
WORK IN LARGE PART OF STUART
HALL TO THINK ABOUT THE WAYS IN
WHICH POLICY AND THE PRODUCTION
OF REGULATIONS REQUIRE A
PARTICULAR VISION OF THE WORLD
IN ORDER TO PRODUCE THEM AND IN
ORDER TO UNDERSTAND EPIDEMICS AS
A WHOLE.
SO 1992 STUART HALL WROTE A
PIECE CALLED THE WEST AND THE
REST WHICH SUGGEST THAT RATHER
THAN BEING A GEOGRAPHIC SPACE
THE WEST IS ALSO HISTORICAL
CONSTRUCT WHICH CREATES THE
APPEARANCE OF THE UNIFIED WHOLE.
THE CLASSIFICATION OF WESTERN
VERSUS NONWESTERN RATHER THAN
THE FUNDAMENTAL DIFFERENCE IS A
TOOL IN WHICH TO THINK AND
PRODUCE KNOWLEDGE.
AND TO CLASSIFY SOCIETIES.
IT SETS THE CERTAIN STRUCTURE OF
THOUGHT INTO MOTION AND ALSO A
PART OF LANGUAGE AND PROVIDES A
CRITERIA OF EVALUATION AGAINST
WHICH OTHER SOCIETIES ARE RANKED
AND JUDGED ON A TIME LINE OF
DEVELOPMENT AGAINST THE WEST.
THE WEST IS DEVELOPED AND GOOD
WHICH EQUALS DESIRABLE.
EDWARD THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK
ORIENISM -- A WAY OF SEEING THE
REST OF THE WORLD IN RELATION TO
THE WEST IS IN SHORT THE WESTERN
STYLE FOR DOMINATING AND HAVING
AUTHORITY OVER THE ORIENT ROOTED
IN THE PRACTICE OF CLAIMING
UNDERSTANDING AND THEREBY THE
AUTHORITY THOUGH CONTROL IT.
IT ALLOWS FOR DISTINCTIONS OF
THE VISIONS TO BE DRAWN.
SO WHEN WE CONNECT THESE
THINKERS TOGETHER WE SEE THE
WAYS IN WHICH A VIEW OF THE
WORLD IS CONSTRUCTED ESPECIALLY
ONE LOCATED IN THE WEST THAT
MAKES IT APPEAR TO BE AN ENTITY
-- BUT IN THESE EPIDEMIC
RESPONSES AND CONTROLS AND
SYSTEMS OF REGULATION THAT ARE
PRODUCED WE SEE FUNDAMENTALLY A
WAY OF SEEING THE WORLD THAT
COMES ABOUT THAT PRIORITIZES THE
INTEREST OF THE WEST OVER THE
REST OF THE WORLD.
AND I PROPOSE A CONCEPT OF
EPIDEMIC ORIENTALISM -- THE
DISCOURSE OF VIEWPOINT WITH THE
REST OF THE WORLD TO WHICH
EUROPE HAS RECOGNIZED ITSELF IN
RELATIONSHIP TO ITS COLONIES.
TO PRESENT AND TO WHICH -- TO
WHICH ALL ACTORS -- BUT WHAT I
LOOK AT SEEM TO RESPOND.
AND I WOULD ARGUE THAT EPIDEMIC
ORIENTALISM IS MARKED BY THE
GEOGRAPHIC ORIENTATION OF THE
WORLD -- THE RELATION OR THE
CONSTRUCTION OF VISIONS OF MADE
DIFFERENCE SIGNIFIED BY DISEASE
AND THE PRODUCTION OF A
PARTICULAR PROGRESSION OF
DISEASE CONTROL THAT ELEVATES
THE WEST ABOVE OTHERS.
SO I WANT NOW THAT WE'VE GONE
THROUGH A HOST OF THEORY I WANT
TO APPLY A LITTLE BIT OF -- TO
THESE CONCEPTS AND TERMS.
SO I WANT TO PROVIDE THREE
QUOTATIONS HERE THAT DESCRIBE
AND CLAIM TO ARGUE FOR THE NEW
FORMS OF REGULATIONS OF
INFECTIOUS DISEASE CONTROL AND
WHAT I HOPE TO DEMONSTRATE IS
THAT WE SEE FUNDAMENTALLY THIS
PARTICULAR FRAMING OF INFECTIOUS
DISEASE THREAT AS -- IN THIS
STRAIN.
AND I'LL LET YOU READ THEM AS I
DISCUSS THEM.
IT'S STILL COINCIDENCE IN THE
150 YEAR HISTORY THAT WE CAN
FIND SURPRISINGLY IDENTICAL
JUSTIFICATIONS.
THE EMPLOYMENT OF THE SPECTRUM
-- TRADE AS A POTENTIAL CAUSE
HAS BEEN EVOKED FROM THE 1890s
TO THE PRESENT.
CREATING A GEOGRAPHY.
-- FOR THE THREAT OF THE SPREAD
OF THE EPIDEMIC.
THE ULTIMATE FORMS -- FOR
CONTROLLING INFECTIOUS DISEASE
WERE EMBEDDED WITHIN EXISTING
CONCERNS, NEW OR HASTENING FORMS
OF MOBILE AND A NEED TO CONTROL
POPULATION MOVEMENT.
THESE CONCERNS HAVE BEEN STEP
FOCUSED UPON EUROPEAN COME
>> AND POST COLONIAL SPACES
WORLDWIDE.
THE FRAMERS HAVE BEEN UNIQUELY
CONCERNED WITH IMPOSING OR
MAINTAINING A PARTICULAR SYSTEM
OF REALIZE UPON THE WORLD OF
MAINTAINING THAT ORDER IN
OPPOSITION TO THE THREAT OF
CERTAIN INFECTIOUS DISEASES THAT
MIGHT UPSET THIS ORDER.
THESE THREE WERE UTTERED IN
RESPONSE TO THE FORM OF THE
INTERNATIONAL SANITARY
CONVENTIONS OR INTERNATIONAL
HEALTH REGULATIONS.
THE FIRST FROM 1892 WHICH IS
HERE, THE SECOND FROM 1956 DOWN
HERE AND THE THIRD FROM 1988
REFLECT A CONTINUITY AND MODES
OF THOUGHT AND PERCEPTIONS OF
DISEASE THREAT.
IN EACH THE DEADLIEST THREATS
EMERGED FROM THE DARKEST PARTS
OF THE WORLD.
AND REFLECTED AN IMMEDIATE
THREAT TO AN ALREADY DEFINED
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE.
EACIN THE FIRST QUOTE -- NOTED
PHYSICIAN -- WHO WAS THE FATHER
OF MARCEL -- THE AUTHOR -- HE
WAS A REPRESENTATIVE OF FRANCE,
HE DEPICTS EUROPE -- BY THE
THREAT HAVE PEST LANCE.
THE COLONIES OF EUROPE AFFECT
THE POSSIBILITY OF EXPLOITATION
BUT ALSO GREAT RISK.
THE OBJECTIVE MUST BE THE
MAINTENANCE OF COLONIAL ECONOMIC
RELATIONS AND THE ESTABLISHMENT
OF THE BOUNDARY.
IN THE SECOND THE QUOTE FROM THE
GOVERNMENT OF CEYLON PRESENT DAY
SRI LANKA -- THE THREAT IS A
LOAN TRAVELER AFFLICTED WITH
YELLOW FEVER CAPABLE OF
DEVASTATING THE REST OF THE
WORLD.
FINALLY THE QUOTE -- DESPITE THE
HUMANISTIC CALLS -- THE SPECTOR
OF A DISTANT INHABITANT COMING
TO THE SHORES OF AMERICAS HAUNT
HIS VISION OF THE FUTURE.
SO I WOULD ARGUE THAT THESE
THREE QUOTES SET UP A PARTICULAR
VISION OF THE WORLD THAT PERSIST
ACROSS THE TIME PERIODS
CONSIDERED.
FROM THE 1800s TO THE PRESENT.
BUT THE EPIDEMICS THAT THREATEN
THE GLOBE ARE THE ONES THAT
EMERGE FROM THE DISTANT LANDS.
NOW DESCRIBED AS THE DEVELOPING
WORLD AND TRAVEL TO LANDS
UNSPOILED AND UNPREPARED FOR
SUCH PEST LANCE.
ALMOST ALWAYS EUROPE AND NORTH
AMERICA.
SO WE SEE A WHOLE IDEALIZED MAP
OF GEOGRAPHY BEFORE US.
IT'S NOT SUFFICIENT TO UNDER THE
BIOLOGY BUT ALSO THE ASSUMPTIONS
OF THOSE ASSESSING.
WE SEE A WORLD WHERE THE THREAT
IS SEEN AND MUST BE SEEN THROUGH
THE EYES OF THOSE WITH THEIR
FEET FIRMLY PLANTED NOT AT THE
SITE OF EPIDEMIC OCCURRENCES BUT
RATHER IN THE DISTANT PLACES
WHERE THESE EPIDEMICS MAY ONE
DAY REACH.
THESE ARE A WINDOW INTO THE
LANDSCAPES OF RELATIONS ON TO
WHICH MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE ARE
MAPPED WITH THE OMNI PRESENT BUT
UNSTATED PURPOSE OF RECOGNIZING
EPIDEMIC THREAT -- THAT DIVIDES
THE WEST FROM THE REST.
THE QUESTION OF HOW AND WHY --
DESPITE A HUNDRED YEARS --
PERHAPS THIS IS SUCH AN ENDURE
PERSPECTIVE.
NOW THE EFFECTS OF THIS EPIDEMIC
ORIENTALISM THROUGH TIME I WANT
TO TRACE OUT A LITTLE BIT MORE.
AS A RESULT OF THE INTERNATIONAL
SANITARY CONVENTIONS AND
CONFERENCES WHAT WE SAW WERE A
HOST OF EFFECTS BY FOCUSING THE
CONTROL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE
AND PREVENTING THREATS PRIMARILY
OF DISEASE EMERGING OR ARRIVING
ON THE SHORES OF EUROPE,
HEIGHTENED SECURITY AND BIAS
AGAINST NONEUROPEANS -- EMERGED
SOME CHINO PHOBIC RESPONSES.
*
THIS ALLOWED FOR ESPECIALLY IN
TERMS OF RELATIONS IN THE EARLY
20th AND LATE 19th CENTURY
ALLOWED FOR THE EMBARGO AND
CLOSER OF COLONIAL PORTS TO
TRADE TO EUROPE AND THE WEST AND
THIS WOULD HAVE CASCADING MAJOR
ECONOMIC EFFECTS BOTH FOR
IMPERIAL TRADE BUT ALSO FOR THE
COLONIAL ECONOMIES IN THOSE
PLACES AND AT TIMES THIS HAD
DEVASTATING EFFECTS FOR THE
LOCAL POPULATION.
IN CAPETOWN SOUTH AFRICA -- AN AN
EPIDEMIC OF BUBONIC PLAGUE --
COULD BE VIEWED AS A BLUEPRINT
AND A PRECURSORRER TO RACIALLY
SEGREGATED SOUTH AFRICAN
TOWNSHIPS DURING APARTHEID.
AND TO THE WESTERN EUROPE AND AND
THE IMMEDIATE TEARIAN.
*.
THE DISEASE -- AND SANITARY
SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN AND STILL IS
ONE OF THE LARGEST IN THE WORLD.
AND THIS ANXIETY AROUND THE HAJJ
WERE OF CONCERN FOR MUSLIMS AND
ON TO MECCA WHERE THEY WOULD
INTERACT WITH EUROPEANS WHO
WOULD TRANSFER SCHOLAR BACK.
*.
THE FOCUS OF CONTROL TURNED TO
PREVENTION OF TRANSFER TO
EUROPE.
THE SUGGESTION WAS FOR THE AUTO
MAN'S TO ERECT MASSIVE -- IN THE
RED SEA.
THEY SEND IN THE LATE 19th
CENTURY THE SANITARY MEASURES
THAT WOULD BE NEEDED TO CHANGE
IN INDIA.
BUT THE RENDERING OF THE WORLD
ENTIRE RELATION TO DISEASE
THREATS POSED TO YOUR CULMINATED
IN 1866 AND SUGGESTION BEING
POSED OUTSIDE OF YOU ARE CROP
FOR ITS OWN POPULATION.
THEY WERE RENDERED IN CAPABLE --
WITHIN THE INTERNATIONAL
SANITARY CONFERENCE DISCUSSIONS
ESPECIALLY WITH YOU AREIAN
INTERVENTION AN EMERGENCY
PROPOSAL THAT WAS BROUGHT FORTH
-- ALSO RENDERED CERTAIN
POPULATIONS DISPOSABLE TO THE
INTEREST OF EUROPE.
BY FORCING CLOSER TO PILGRIM
TRAVEL THROUGH A FRENCH PROPOSAL
THE EMERGENCE OF CHOLERA -- --
THIS PROVEN FACT WAS RAISED BY
THE DELEGATIONS IN PROTEST.
-- -- THE AWED MOON DELEGATION *
MADE THIS PLEA -- WOULD RESULT
IN THE CREATION OF IMMENSE --
PEST LANCE -- NOT ONE WOULD
SURVIVE FOR MORE THAN A FEW DAYS
AND THESE TOWNS WOULD BE
TRANSFORMED INTO NECROPALY.
COULD WE BELIEVE THAT THEIR
POPULATIONS WOULD REST
SPECTATORS OF SO MANY
CALAMITIES.
HERE WE SEE AN EXAMPLE IN THIS
DEBATE OVER THIS PROPOSAL TO
CLOSE THE SEA LANES OF THE WAYS
IN WHICH DIFFERENT POPULATIONS
ARE SEEN AS POTENTIAL VICTIMS OF
THE SPREAD OF DISEASE NAMELY
EUROPE AND WHO'S CAPABLE OF
BEING SACRIFICED OR RENDERED
DISPOSAL FOR THE SAKE OF THOSE
INTEREST AND THOSE BODIES.
CONCERNS ABOUT THE ECONOMIC RISK
OF DISEASE BUT WERE NOT LIMITED
TO EUROPEAN EMPIRES.
THE UNITED STATES HAS A HISTORY
OF ANTICHINESE SENTIMENT H. --
HOW IN HONOLULU -- AND THE
GENERAL POPULATION LAMENTED THE
OUTBREAK OF THE BUBONIC PLAYING.
-- PLAGUE.
IT SPREAD AROUND THE WORLD AND
THEY CLOSED THEIR BORDERS.
THE ADMINISTRATORS EMBARKED UPON
A FULL QUARANTINE ALLOWING NO
ONE TO LEAVE.
THIS IMPOSED CONSIDERABLE
HARDSHIPS.
THE AREA OF QUARANTINE
IMMEDIATELY NEAR THE HARBOR BUT
AVOIDED BUILDINGS AND BUSINESSES
OPENED BY WHITE AMERICANS AND
MEEDLY CONNECTED TO SITES OF
QUARANTINE.
ULTIMATELY AS PICTURED HERE
AUTHORITIES BURNED CONTAMINATED
BUILDINGS BUT IT SPREAD AND
CONSUMED MOST OF CHINATOWN IN
FLAMES.
AND WE SAW SIMILAR RESPONSES
OCCURRING IN SAN FRANCISCO.
AND THIS PARTICULAR FORM OF
EPIDEMIC ORIENTALISM CONTRIBUTED
TO THE GROUNDWORK OF US
EXCLUSIONARY IMMIGRATION LAWS
AGAINST CHINESE IMMIGRANTS AND
THOSE IMMIGRATING FROM BROADLY
EAST ASIA IN THE 19th CENTURY.
THE PAGE AGE OF 1875 BANNED THE
IMMIGRATION OF CHINESE WOMEN TO
THE UNITED STATES AND WAS
JUSTIFIED THAT CHINESE WERE
EITHER IMMORAL BUT ALSO CARRIED
DISEASE.
THE CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT BANNED
ALL IMMIGRATION TO THE UNITED
STATES.
AND THESE LAWS CONTRIBUTED TO
THE GROUNDWORK FOR LATER
EXCLUSIONARY LAWS -- TO OTHERS.
AS WELL AS A POWERFUL BINARY
MODE FOR DISTINGUISHING
MASCULINITY AND GENDER AS WELL
AS RACE.
THEY REPRESENTED A SEXUALIZED
DANGER AND MORALE AND RACIAL
POLLUTION.
NOT ONLY THIS THE PERCEPTION OF
THE STRAINS OF THE VD COULD
POISON ANGLO SAX SON BLOOD.
-- *.
IT BECOMES A POWERFUL FORCE.
PUBLIC HEALTH ACTORS -- BELIEVE
THAT A VARIETY OF DISEASES WERE
MORE COMMON AMONG CHINESE
IMMIGRANTS AND WERE USED AS A
BASES OF EXCLUSION.
SO AS I CONCLUDE AND THIS IS A
WHIRLWIND TOUR -- HIGHLIGHTED
SOME OF THE I'M PEARICS THAT I
WORK WITH * I WANT TO END WITH
THINKING ABOUT THE ROLE OF
ARCHIVES IN THIS PROJECT AND
FUNDAMENTALLY BEYOND.
INDEED PERHAPS THE PANDEMIC OF
COVID-19 EXPOSES THE TERRIFYING
NEARNESS OF THE 19th CENTURY.
THE VIOLENCES AND PANDEMICS AND
LOSS OF LOSS.
WHAT I'VE DEPICTED SHOULD
HIGHLIGHT AND LINGER WITH US IN
ITS HAUNTING NEARNESS TO OUR
PRESENT COVID-19 DISCOURSES.
AND ARCHIVES LIKE THE NLM BEAR
TESTAMENT TO THIS.
LESS OF A CHRONOLOGICAL ISRAEL
TO OUR CURRENT TIMES.
MODIFIED TO MAKE WAY FOR THE NEW
WHILE SHOWING THE OBVIOUS TRACES
OF WHAT WAS THERE BEFORE.
LIKE A SHADOW IT IS CAST UPON
GLOBAL RESPONSES TO DISEASE
THREATS.
IN THIS PRESENTATION I SHOW THAT
THE CONTINUITIES AND DISJOINTS
WITHIN THE HISTORY AND THE
LEGACIES OF COLONIAL PRACTICES
OF DISEASE CONTROL IN SOME WAYS
PERSIST TO THIS DAY.
-- TO MAINTAIN INTO OUR COMMON
SENSE UNDERSTANDINGS OF THE
WORLD AND WHAT MAY BE CONSIDERED
A POST COLONIAL WORLD.
AT THE SAME TIME I DEMONSTRATE
HOW THE PRACTICE OF DISEASE
CONTROL CAN SOME OF THE SHIFT
WHILE RETAINING IN SO MANY WAYS
THE DEEPLY RACIAL XENO PHOBIC
ANXIETY.
SO THIS SHOULD RAISE FURTHER
QUESTIONS IN WHICH THE WAY WE
CASUALLY -- -- RETAINED MANY OF
THE SAME ANXIETIES AND DID -- AND
DESIRES.
IN SOME WAYS THEY ENSURE THE
TRANSITION WHILE ALSO SHIFTING
TO ACTUALLY CHALLENGE THEM IN
MANY OTHERS.
I WANT TO NOTE THAT IN THIS WORK
-- I OFTEN TEACH THE MATERIALS
THAT I LOOK THROUGH.
THIS IS AN ARTICLE -- WHICH I
USED TO TEACH TO MY CLASSES TO
THINK ABOUT THE WAYS THAT WE CAN
ACTUALLY LOOK AT AND CONSIDER
THE HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL
PUBLIC HEALTH AND RESPOND TO
THEM AND ENGAGE WITH THEM TO
PRODUCE BETTER MORE EQUITABLE
AND HUMANE POLICY.
SO TO CONCLUDE ARCHIVES ARE
SPACES WHICH GIVE US -- WAYS THE
WAYS DOMINANT NARRATIVES ARE
DISPLAYED AND WHAT MUST BE
REMEMBERED -- THEY CONTINUE TO
SHAPE AND CONDITION OUR PRESENT
AND THE POSSIBILITY FOR OUR
HEALTH RESPONSES AND THIS
ENDURING PERSPECTIVE OF DISEASE
THREAT FRAMED THROUGH THE
POSITION OF A SANITARILY
SUPERIOR THREAT AGAINST THE REST
OF THE WORLD NEEDS TO BE
CHALLENGED AND RECOGNIZED IN
ORDER FOR US TO DEVELOP MORE
EQUITABLE EFFECTIVE AND
RESPONSIVE PANDEMIC REGULATION.
WITH THAT I'LL END AND I LOOK
FORWARD TO YOUR QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
>> DR. WHITE, THANK YOU VERY
MUCH FOR AN OUTSTANDING
PRESENTATION.
WONDERFUL.
TO THOSE WHO ARE WATCHING YOU'LL
FIND A LIVE FEEDBACK BUTTON
UNDER THE VIDEO FEED.
YOU CAN USE THAT TO SEND A
QUESTION THAT WILL COME DIRECTLY
TO ME AND I WILL TRIAGE THEM AND
SHARE THEM WITH OUR SPEAKER
TODAY.
WE HAVE TWO QUESTIONS.
BY THE WAY IF ANYONE IS ON
Twitter AND THEY WANT TO SEND A
QUESTION USE THE #NLM TALK.
AT LEAST IN THE CASE OF THE
UNITED STATES IN THE LATTER
1800s AND EARLY 1900s THERE
WAS SANITARY CHINO PHOBIA THIS
INCLUDED EASTERN AND SOUTHERN
EUROPEANS SO WAS THE ISSUE OF
ORIENTALISM OR WAS IT MORE
GENERIC?
>> THAT IS A GREAT QUESTION.
SO ONE THING I WANT TO MENTION
IS THAT BY AND LARGE THE
EPIDEMIC ORIENTALISM IS WITHIN
THE INTERNATIONAL SANITARY
CONFERENCES -- AND HEALTH
REGULATIONS.
BUT THIS IS A REALLY GREAT
QUESTION BECAUSE AT ONE OF THE
INTERNATIONAL SANITARY
CONFERENCES THERE WAS LARGE
DISCUSSION ABOUT THE CONTROLS OF
-- THE HAA JJ TRAVELING THROUGH
THE SUEZ CANAL.
THIS SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD PLAN
THAT WE SHOULD APPLY TO YOU
ARIANS IMMIGRATING TO THE UNITED
STATES *.
AT WHICH POINT THERE IS AN
INTERESTING MOMENT IN THE
CONFERENCE WHERE IT SAID THAT IT
WAS MET WITH LITTLE INTEREST
FROM THE YOUR PEEUROPEIAN PARTIES.
WHAT WE SEE IN THE INTERNATIONAL
SANITARY CONFERENCES AND
CONVENTIONS ARE SOMETIMES THE
POLICING OF THE BOUNDARIES AND
WE ALSO SEE THAT I DIDN'T HAVE
TO TIME TO MENTION THIS BUT WE
ALSO SEE THAT THE ABILITY TO
SANITARILY CONTROL COLONIAL
POPULATIONS BECOMES A SIGNIFIER
OF WESTERN SUPERIORITY AND THE
FRENCH WHO ARE NO FRIENDS OF THE
BRITISH ARE CONSTANTLY TRYING TO
DEMONSTRATE A SUPERIORITY FOR
THE FACT THAT FUNDAMENTALLY THE
CHOLERA -- BEGINS TO EMERGE IN
INDIA.
AND THIS IS A DEBATE THAT
LINGERS ACROSS MANY OF THE EARLY
INTERNATIONAL SANITARY
CONFERENCES.
SO IT IS XENOPHOBIA BUT ALSO A
PARTICULAR BRAND OF ZON XENOPHOBIA
WHICH MELDS WITH IMPERIAL AND
ALSO BROADLY ECONOMIC ANXIETIES.
THAT EXIST SEPARATE FROM THAT
XENOPHOBIA.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT
QUESTION.
>> THANK YOU.
ANOTHER QUESTION REGARDING MYTHS
OF MOW DERN TEE AND CONVENTIONS
-- DOES THE PRACTICE OF NAMING A
DISEASE AFTER THE AREA WHERE IT
WAS FIRST DOCUMENTED FOR EXAMPLE
SPANISH FLU, RUSSIAN FLU, CHINA
VIRUS IMPACT POLICIES AND
PRACTICES TO EPIDEMICS?
>> ABSOLUTELY AND THAT IS A
WONDERFUL QUESTION.
PART OF WHAT I DEMONSTRATED IN
THE LATTER CHAPTERS I SHOWED YOU
THINGS THAT WERE GOING ON
ESPECIALLY WITH THE MATERIALS
THAT I USE FRED -- USED FROM THE
NLM BUT WHAT YOU SEE IS THAT
ACTORS WITHIN THE WHO GRAPPLING
WITH AND TRYING TO CHALLENGE
THESE SYSTEMS AND GETTING PUSH
BACK FROM OR HAVING TO CONSIDER
THE EPIDEMIC ORION TALLISM OF
THE OF THE WORLD HEALTH
ASSEMBLY.
SO WE KNOW THAT THE WORLD HEALTH
ORGANIZATION IN THE MID-2010s
PUT FORD A GUIDANCE ON
INFECTIOUS DISEASE NAMING THAT
WE SHOULD NO LONGER NAME
DISEASES AFTER IT WAS
PROFESSIONS OR TRADES.
THE PLACE THAT THEY EMERGED FROM
OR USES -- EVOCATIVE NAMES.
BUT WE'VE SEEN THIS COME UP WITH
CONVERSATIONS ABOUT COVID
VARIANTS WHICH MAKES IT VERY
DIFFICULT ESPECIALLY WITH THE
OMICRON VARIANT FIRST BEING
ISOLATED AND DISCUSSED IN SOUTH
AFRICA LED TO VERY SIGNIFICANT
TRAVEL CONTROLS AGAINST MUCH OF
SOUTHERN AFRICA SO WE DO SEE THE
WAYS IN WHICH THE GEOGRAPHIC
ASSOCIATION WITH DISEASE HAS
VERY NEGATIVE OUTCOMES THAT
NEEDS TO BE, WE NEED TO CONSIDER
AND MANAGE IN THE PRACTICE OF
INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESPONSE.
>> THANK YOU.
ANOTHER QUESTION THAT HAS COME
THROUGH.
COULD YOU COMMENT ON THE
RELATIVE LACK OF CONCERN IN THE
WEST ABOUT THE CHRONIC PANDEMIC
OF TUBERCULOSIS IN AFRICA AND
ASIA.
>> THIS IS ONE OF THE -- I GUESS
THE -- TO MY TALK IS IN TALKING
ABOUT DISEASES -- WHAT IS
EVIDENT IS THAT THESE ARE
DISEASES ARE LARGELY NOT PRIOR
TO THE EMERGENCE OF AN EPIDEMIC
ENDEMIC IN SPACES LIKE EUROPE
AND NORTH AMERICA.
UNLIKE FOR INSTANCE TUBERCULOSIS
OR MALARIA WAS IN MUCH OF THE
19th CENTURY.
SO WHAT I THINK IS SO
FASCINATING AND IMPORTANT TO
RECOGNIZE ABOUT TUBERCULOSIS AS
A KIND OF POLITICAL PHENOMENA IS
THAT OBVIOUSLY NO DISEASE OR
VERY FEW DISEASESES HIGHLIGHT
CLEARLY THE RELATIONSHIPS
BETWEEN SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC
INEQUALITY LIKE TUBERCULOSIS AND
WHILE I DON'T DISCUSS
TUBERCULOSIS IN RELATIONSHIP TO
EPIDEMIC ORION TALLISM THE FACT
-- THAT TB CAN BE SCREENED FOR
AND IS UNLIKELY TO PRESENT IN
IT'S CUTE STATE IN MUCH OF
WESTERN EUROPE OR NORTH AMERICA.
*.
CERTAINLY REFLECTS AT TIMES HOW
IT'S BEEN PRIORITIZED AT LEAST
WITHIN THE REGULATIONS BUT ALSO
HOW IT'S RESPONDED INTO IN THE
FIELD OF GLOBAL HEALTH.
ABSOLUTELY.
IT IS NOT CONSIDERED A PROBLEM.
OF WESTERN EUROPE AND NORTH
AMERICA NECESSARILY IN THE SAME
WAYS WE MIGHT THINK IT SHOULD BE
IN THE WAYS TO RESOLVE THE
GLOBAL ISSUE.
>> THANK YOU.
WE HAVE TIME FOR ONE MORE
QUESTION.
THIS PANDEMIC IS PERHAPS THE
FIRST TIME IN MODERN HISTORY
WHERE AMERICANS AND WESTERN YOU --
YOU ARIANS FACE TRAVEL BANS.
CLEAR *.
>> THAT IS A PHENOMENAL
QUESTION.
I THINK THAT THAT IS -- THAT IS
SO MUCH THE PART OF WHAT I KIND
OF WANTED TO OPEN WITH.
AND I THINK RATHER THAN
PROVIDING A FULL EXPLANATION I
WANTED TO CONCEPTUALLY OUTLINE
SOME OF THESE QUESTIONS AND THIS
KIND, WE HAVE LIVED VERY
COMFORTEDBLY WITH A VISION OF
OUR PROTECTION FROM DISEASE BUT
ALSO OUR PROTECTION FROM THE
REGULATORY EFFECTS OF EPIDEMICS
AND I THINK NOW THAT EPIDEMIC
ORION TALLISM IS MUCH MORE
EVIDENT IT WASN'T WHEN I * FIRST
WROTE MY DISSERTATION OR WHEN I
FINISHED IT IN 2018 BUT RATHER
THAN RETREAT TO THE WAY WE'VE
BEEN DOING THINGS FOR THE LAST
150 YEARS WE SHOULD THINK ABOUT
AND CONSIDER THIS PREVALENT
DISCOURSE IN THE WAY THAT WE
HANDLE POLICY AND THE WAY THAT
WE REFLECT ON THINGS.
PERHAPS TO MOVE BEYOND
PRIORITIZING A PERSPECTIVE
ROOTED IN A WESTERN ABILITY TO
REMOVE ONE SELF FROM THE
REALITIES OF AN EPIDEMIC BUT ONE
THAT IS SITUATED IN THOSE
EXPERIENCES OF ISOLATION AND
ACUTE EPIDEMIC DISASTER WHICH I
THINK PRODUCES FEELINGS OF
EMPATHY RATHER THAN HIGHLIGHTING
DIFFERENCE.
I KNOW THAT COULD SOUND RATHER
EARTH -- AND TOUCHY-FEELY
REALISTICALLY THIS WILL PRODUCE
BETTER POLICY AND I THINK WE CAN
PUSH FORWARD IN THIS WAY.
7
>> DR. WHITE, THANK YOU VERY
MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION TODAY
AND FOR KICKING OFF OUR 2022
VIRTUAL SERIES OF NLM HISTORY
TALKS.
WE WISH YOU SUCCESS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
>> THANK YOU SO MUCH.
TAKE CARE.