Episode 57 - Historical Epidemiology with Jim Webb
Episode 57 - April 18, 2021
![WHO Liberian Malaria Eradication Project](https://infectioushistorians.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/WHO-Liberian-Malaria-Eradication-Project.jpg)
Jim Webb (Colby College) comes on the podcast to talk to Merle and Lee about his work in historical epidemiology and how its multidisciplinary approach could transform how we teach and research diseases. After first defining what historical epidemiology is and why it is a difficult field in which to do research, Jim gives examples of how he approached these questions based on his malaria research in both the recent and deep past. He then turns to how research on diseases works today and how historical epidemiology could help transform research, teaching, and academia as a whole moving forward. At the end, Jim discusses his recent book on intestinal diseases and how his research was different and similar based on environmental, ecological, and social factors that shaped its impact.
Further Reading
- Giles-Vernick, Tamara, Didier Gondola, Guillaume Lachenal, and William H. Schneider. "Social history, biology, and the emergence of HIV in colonial Africa." The Journal of African History (2013): 11-30.
- Melissa Graboyes, “Malaria imbroglio: ethics, eradication, and endings in Pare Taveta, East Africa, 1959-1960,” International Journal of African Historical Studies, vol. 47, no. 3 (2014), 445-471.
- Webb Jr, James L.A. "The historical epidemiology of global disease challenges." The Lancet 385, no. 9965 (2015): 322-323.
- Webb Jr, James L.A. "Historical epidemiology and global health history." História, Ciências, Saúde-Manguinhos 27 (2020): 13-28.
Our Guest
Jim Webb,
Research Professor Emeritus, Colby College, Maine, USA
![](https://infectioushistorians.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Prof.-James-L.A.-Webb-Jr-225x300.jpg)