Balancing the self : medicine, politics and the regulation of health in the twentieth century / edited by Mark Jackson and Martin Moore.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jackson, Mark., Editor.

Contributor:

Moore, Martin D., editor.

Jackson, Mark, editor.

Series:

Social histories of medicine.

Social Histories of Medicine

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Medical policy--Great Britain--History--20th century.

Medical policy.

Medical care--Great Britain--History--20th century.

Medical care.

Self-care, Health--Great Britain.

Self-care, Health.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (304 pages) : illustrations; digital file(s).

Place of Publication:

Manchester, UK : Manchester University Press, 2020.

Language Note:

In English.

System Details:

data file

Summary:

Concepts of ‘balance’ have been central to modern politics, medicine and society. Yet, while many health, environmental and social challenges are discussed globally in terms of imbalances in biological, social and ecological systems, strategies for addressing modern excesses and deficiencies have focused almost exclusively on the agency of the individual. Balancing the Self explores the diverse ways in which balanced and unbalanced selfhoods have been subject to construction, intervention and challenge across the long twentieth century. Through original chapters on subjects as varied as obesity control, fatigue and the regulation of work, and the physiology of exploration in extreme conditions, the volume analyses how concepts of balance and rhetorics of empowerment and responsibility have historically been used for a variety of purposes, by a diversity of political and social agencies. Historicising present-day concerns, as well as uncovering the previously hidden interests of the past, this volume’s wide-ranging discussions of health governance, subjectivity and balance will be of interest to historians of medicine, sociologists, social policy analysts, and social and political historians alike.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

List of figures and tables

List of contributors

Acknowledgements

List of abbreviations

1 Introduction

Part I: Configuring balance

2 Balance and the 'good' diabetic in Britain, c.1900-60

3 From the alcoholic to the sensible drinker

4 'Look After Yourself'

Part II: Regulating imbalance

5 Self-help and self-promotion

6 Your life in your hands

7 Pilot fatigue and the regulation of airline schedules in post-war Britain

Part III: Reconfiguring balance

8 Extreme acts

9 Self-help, marriage guidance and the making of the midlife crisis

10 Balancing contested meanings of creativity and pathology in Parkinson's Disease

11 Conclusion

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

Description based on publisher's description.

ISBN:

9781526132147

1526132141

OCLC:

1408681537

Access Restriction:

Open access Unrestricted online access