Studium (Rotterdam, Netherlands)最新文献

One of the most important Dutch psychiatrists in the interwar period was H.C. Rümke (1893-1967). With his eclectic interest in psychiatric approaches such as both psychoanalysis and phenomenology, Rümke is most well known for his remarkable diagnostic and therapeutic skills. The life and work of Rümke has been studied in detail, most notably by the Dutch historian Jacob Van Belzen. Despite this extensive research, in this paper it is stated that a relevant aspect of Rümke's work has been largely disregarded--namely his profound interest in and use of poetry and literature. Not only did Rümke write poems himself under the pseudonym of H. Cornelius, in his scholarly work he frequently refers to fictional literature and at the end of his career he wrote a comprehensive analysis of Frederik van Eeden's novel Van de Koele Meeren des Doods. For the eclectic clinician Rümke literature and poetry are a source of knowledge to gain insight into the human psyche. Furthermore, according to Rümke, often literature succeeds better at expressing the human condition than the science of psychiatry can. In this article it is argued that for a coherent interpretation of the life and work of Rümke this literal and poetic aspect of his work cannot be disregarded. It is precisely Rümke's profound interest in literature and poetry that reflects his two main theses about the science of psychiatry. These are on the one hand the centrality of clinical practice and on the other hand the boundaries of psychiatry. As a clinical practitioner Rümke's aim was to be able to understand the suffering of the patient - literature and poetry could help him do that. Rümke's use of literature and poetry can be understood by taking into account the context of the clinic, but the intertwinement between psychiatry, literature and poetry in Rümke's work also reflects a broader issue. Namely that the science of psychiatry is not omnipotent and that sometimes the arts are better equipped to grasp the human condition.

The 'Nederlandsche Vereeniging voor Tropische Geneeskunde' (Dutch Society for Tropical Medicine--in short: NVTG) was founded in 1907, a time not only of colonial expansion, but also a time in which the economic interest of the Dutch East-Indies for The Netherlands grew exceptionally. This had its effect on the motivations behind medical aid. Hygienic measures were financially backed because healthy workers had a positive effect on profits. This atmosphere of economic interest and political-military expansion had its effect on the foundation of the NVTG as well. Colonialism was generally approved of, and the goal of the society apart from sociability motives--was to support research into illnesses torturing mainly the Dutch colonies. This was in line with the reasoning that the colonies were rightfully governed by the Netherlands, because the peoples living there had proven not to be able to look after themselves in a proper manner. The foundation of the Society should have been a part of the foundation of an international society for tropical medicine, but this failed. Although internationalism generally was seen as an important feature of science and certainly of medical science, it is not strange this was not seen as a major problem. For it was national and not international reasons that had led to founding the Dutch society. It was the Dutch position as a colonial power that had convinced Dutch tropical doctors a society should be called into being. A generally shared spirit of internationalism had little to do with this unless internationalism is defined as: what others have, we need to have as well, and let us see in international conferences what could be of national benefit. That nevertheless this spirit of internationalism--and not nationalism--is commonly hailed as the main reason behind the foundation, is probably due to the fact that around 1900 nationalism was such a normal state of mind and so fully incorporated in man's way of thinking and acting, that, as for instance was the case with racism, it was hardy noticed and recognised as such.

At the end of the nineteenth century provincial bacteriological institutes were established in Belgium--in Liège, Mons, Namur and Brussels--in order to combat epidemics, to promote preventive medicine and to pursue the successful research of Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch. Similar laboratories existed at the universities of Ghent, Louvain and Brussels. The image building played an important role for both kinds of institutes, as bacteriology in pioneering phase had to be publicly confirmed as a new, valuable discipline. However, the directors of provincial and academic institutes--with the same academic training though--were awarded with different qualities at their jubilees, fitting with the purposes and the self-image of their respective institutions, either provincial authorities or universities. The image of academic directors was guided by academic decorum: Emile van Ermengem, Edmond Destrée and Joseph Denys were represented as savants, solely devoted to pure science and paternally educating young researchers, notwithstanding the fact that their laboratories had humanitarian merits as well. On the other hand, the discourse on the first provincial directors--Ernest Malvoz, Martin Herman, Achille Haibe--emphasized their altruistic commitment and their solid work for the provincial government. Jules Bordet, a internationally rewarded scientist, professor and provincial director of the Pasteur Institute in Brussels, was celebrated with both sorts of discourses.

The Dutch geologist Rein van Bemmelen was the greatest opponent of plate tectonics in The Netherlands. He lived and worked during an important period in the history of earth sciences. He had studied geology when Wegeners theory was introduced and enthusiastically received in the Netherlands and he worked as a geologists during the period in which, after Wegeners theory was rejected in The Netherlands, several Dutch geologists came with their own theories to explain the origin of continents and oceans and in which plate tectonics was introduced in The Netherlands. He had proposed his own theory, the undation theory, at the beginning of the 1930s and kept on developing it during the following years. He continued to do so until his death in 1983. The history of the undation theory thus sheds light on the history of geology in The Netherlands. I will trace the history of geology in The Netherlands using Rein van Bemmelen and his undation theory as a lens.

This article highlights some of the most remarkable trends in the historiography of tropical medicine. Focusing on the literature that deals with the 19th and 20th centuries, it describes how by the 1980's triumphalist, apologetic histories were replaced by critical studies that revealed the less positive sides of tropical medicine. It also talks about the increasing influence in medical historiography of the postcolonial body of thought and its dynamic perspective on colonial categories and relations. This postcolonialism turns out to be a fruitful approach, as is shown especially by recent studies that focus on the production of tropical medical knowledge. In fact, the historiography of tropical medicine increasingly contributes to the growing body of literature on science and imperialism that looks for postcolonial alternatives to the diffusionist paradigm. This concern to reject diffusionism (which views imperialism as the basis for the spread of European science to the non-western world) has been noticeable particularly in the Anglo-Saxon academic world. This article calls for the adoption of similar approaches in other historiographic traditions.

The Belgian health policy set up in mandated Rwanda after the First World War was mainly centred on some campaigns taking specifically yaws as a target. The struggle against this endemic disease (not fatal, but most disabling) was organized in a very systematic and authoritarian way. This article looks into two of those yaws campaigns, questions their runnings and alterations, and finally brings to light the intra-colonial tensions between the health services and the administration on the one hand, between the colonizers and the African populations on the other hand.