Political Life of an Epidemic - Cholera, Crisis and Citizenship in Zimbabwe

Reveals how the crisis of Zimbabwe's cholera outbreak of 2008-9 had profound implications for political institutions and citizenship.

List of contents

Introduction. Stories and politics of cholera; 1. The making of urban (dis)order: situating the cholera outbreak in historical perspective; 2. 'When people eat shit': cholera and the collapse of Zimbabwe's public health infrastructure; 3. Emergency politics: cholera as a national disaster; 4. The salvation agenda: medical humanitarianism and the response to cholera; 5. 'People were dying like flies': the social contours of cholera in Harare's high-density townships; Conclusion. More to admire than despise?

About the author

Simukai Chigudu is Associate Professor of African Politics at the University of Oxford, and Fellow of St Antony's College, Oxford. He was awarded the biennial Audrey Richards Prize for the best doctoral thesis in African Studies examined at a UK university. He is the author of several articles in leading academic journals including African Affairs, Critical African Studies, and Health Policy and Planning. He worked as a medical doctor before moving into academia.

Summary

Challenging the view of epidemics as purely biological events, this study focuses on the political life of Zimbabwe's cholera epidemic of 2008–9, revealing how the crisis, caused by this preventable disease, had profound implications for political institutions and citizenship in the country.

Product details

• Authors: Simukai Chigudu, Simukai (University of Oxford) Chigudu
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 29.02.2020
• EAN: 9781108489102
• ISBN: 978-1-108-48910-2
• No. of pages: 346
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Medicine > General; Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; 21. Jahrhundert (2000 bis 2100 n. Chr.), Afrikanische Geschichte, Politik und Staat, POLITICAL SCIENCE / General, HISTORY / Africa / General, 21st Century, 21st century history: from c 2000 -, Politics & government, 21st century, c 2000 to c 2100, Politics and government, African History