No Magic Bullet: A Social History of Venereal Disease in the United States Since 1880

No Magic Bullet: A Social History of Venereal Disease in the United States Since 1880
ISBN-10
0195034694
ISBN-13
9780195034691
Series
No Magic Bullet
Category
Social Science / General
Pages
245
Language
English
Published
1985
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Author
Allan M. Brandt

Description

From Victorian anxieties about syphilis to the current hysteria over herpes and AIDS, the history of venereal disease in America requires us to examine social attitudes as well as purely medical concerns. This brilliant study is the first book to chronicle the range and direction of American reactions to the VD problem over the last hundred years. As the author makes clear, the medical promise of "magic bullets"--Drugs that would rid us of disease- is, in the case of VD, a promise unfulfilled. Despite dramatic advances, these diseases continue to exist in epidemic proportions. Focusing on this paradox of effective medicine and persistent disease, the author recounts the assorted medical, military, and public health responses to the problems that have arisen over the years; these have ranged from the widespread incarceration of prostitutes during World War I to the legal requirements for premarital blood tests. In the author's view, American concerns about venereal disease have been inextricably tied to a set of social and cultural values relating to sexuality, gender, ethnicity, and class. He shows how plans to combat sexually transmitted infections have typically emphasized the regulation of individual conduct. At the heart of such efforts, Brandt argues, is an ongoing tendency to see venereal disease as both a punishment for sexual misbehavior and an index of social decay. The tension between medical and moral approaches to VD has significantly impeded efforts to control these infections, for it has been too often assumed that merely controlling behavior is the answer. In tracing the social history of VD, this book offers a lucid, perceptive commentary on the relationship between medical science and cultural values, between sexuality and disease. -- from Book Jacket.

Get the book

Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Search the book
eBay.com
eBay.com
Search the book

Other editions

Similar books

  • Understanding Human Behavior and the Social Environment
    Understanding Human Behavior and the Social Environment
    By Karen Kay Kirst-Ashman, Charles Zastrow

    In this best-selling text BY social workers and FOR social workers, Charles Zastrow and Karen K. Kirst-Ashman, nationally prominent social work educators and authors, guide studetns in assessing and evaluating how individuals function ...

  • War and State Making: The Shaping of the Global Powers
    War and State Making: The Shaping of the Global Powers
    By Karen A. Rasler, William R. Thompson

    War and State Making: The Shaping of the Global Powers

  • Mapping the Social Landscape: Readings in Sociology
    Mapping the Social Landscape: Readings in Sociology
    By Susan J. Ferguson

    Charrière , H. 1969. Papillon . Robert Lafont . ... 6 NOT OUR KIND OF GIRL ELAINE BELL KAPLAN Social research is concerned with the definition and assessment of social phenomena . Many social concepts such as teen pregnancy are ...

  • Body Trauma TV: The New Hospital Dramas
    Body Trauma TV: The New Hospital Dramas
    By Jason Jacobs, Lecturer in Film and Television Studies Jason Jacobs

    A very early example of this is the US single play ' The Hospital where a disturbed porter disrupts the power supply to the hospital . It was a CBS / Studio One production broadcast Doctor : Television , Storytelling and Medical Power ( ...

  • 正義與差異政治
    正義與差異政治
    By 艾莉斯．楊

    ◆1991 年美國政治科學學會 Victoria Schuck 獎 ◆20 世紀最重要的女性主義政治哲學家，《像女孩那樣丟球》作者 Iris Young 代表作 ◆90 年代至今社會運動思想源頭，開創正義理論全新典範 ...

  • 反穀：穀物是食糧還是政權工具？人類為農耕社會付出何種代價？一個政治人類學家對國家形成的反思
    反穀：穀物是食糧還是政權工具？人類為農耕社會付出何種代價？一個政治人類學家對國家形成的反思
    By 詹姆斯．斯科特

    ★當代最重要的政治人類學家詹姆斯．斯科特全新著作。 ★顛覆過往對國家與文明成形基本假設，提出今日國家建立的各種想像。 ...

  • 陇上学人文存.初世宾卷
    陇上学人文存.初世宾卷
    By 范鹏, 初世宾, 李勇锋

    陇者甘肃，历史悠久，文化醇厚。陇上学人，或生于斯长于斯的本地学者，或外来而其学术成就多产于甘肃者。学人是学术活动的主体，就《陇上学人文存》（以下简称《文存》）的 ...

  • Feminism and the Legacy of Revolution: Nicaragua, El Salvador, Chiapas
    Feminism and the Legacy of Revolution: Nicaragua, El Salvador, Chiapas
    By Karen Kampwirth

    Booth, John. 1985. The End and the Beginning: The Nicaraguan Revolution. Boulder: Westview. Booth, John, and Thomas W. Walker. 1989. Understanding Central America. Boulder: Westview Borge, Tomás. 1984. Carlos, the Dawn Ls No Longer ...

  • 2025: Scenarios of U.S. and Global Society Reshaped by Science and Technology
    2025: Scenarios of U.S. and Global Society Reshaped by Science and Technology
    By Joseph Francis Coates, John B. Mahaffie, Andy Hines

    Growing global linkages and complexity are redressing the paradox aptly characterized by sociologist Daniel Bell in the last century , “ government is too big for the small problems of our society and too small for the big ones .

  • African American Firsts in Science & Technology
    African American Firsts in Science & Technology
    By Raymond B. Webster

    ... George W. 318 Neal , Lonnie G. 126 , 312 Nickerson , William J. 11 Nokes , Clarence 121 Page , Lionel F. 356 ... Wanda Anne A. 150 Small , Isadore , III 135 Smart , Brinay 106 Smith , Jonathan S. , II 312 Smith , Morris Leslie 312 ...