Science & Medicine

Science and medicine have been critical to southern history and the formation of southern culture. For three centuries, scientists in the South have documented the lush natural world around them and set a lasting tradition of inquiry. The medical history of the region, however, has been at times tragic. Disease, death, and generations of poor health have been the legacy of slavery, the plantation economy, rural life, and poorly planned cities. The essays in this volume explore this legacy as well as recent developments in technology, research, and medicine in the South. Subjects include natural history, slave health, medicine in the Civil War, public health, eugenics, HIV/AIDS, environmental health, and the rise of research institutions and hospitals, to name but a few. With 38 thematic essays, 44 topical entries, and a comprehensive overview essay, this volume offers an authoritative reference to science and medicine in the American South.

James G. Thomas Jr. is associate director for publications at the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi. He is also managing editor of The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture. Charles Reagan Wilson is Kelly Gene Cook Sr. Chair in History and professor of southern studies at the University of Mississippi. He is coeditor, with William Ferris, of the original Encyclopedia of Southern Culture.