This book explores Japan's "scientific colonialism" through a careful study of the changing roles of Taiwanese doctors under Japanese colonial rule. By integrating individual stories based on interviews and archival materials with discussions of political and social theories, Ming-cheng Lo unearths the points of convergence for medicine and politics in colonial Taiwan.
Ming-cheng M. Lo is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Davis.
"Lo's study of Japanese rule in Taiwan illuminates the ways in which the Japanese fostered the development of modern Western medicine and is crucial for a broader understanding of colonialization. Lo blends insights from social movement theory, ethnic studies and critical theory to explore the 'hybrid identities' among Taiwanese physicians hemmed in by scientific colonialism."—Richard Madsen, author of China's Catholics: Tragedy and Hope in an Emerging Civil Society
"This beautifully-executed study of Taiwanese doctors—self-appointed agents of modernity—captures what happens to people and groups caught at the intersection of colonialism and professionalization. It enriches our understanding of these large-scale processes, of identity, agency and of modernity itself."—Julia P. Adams, author of The Familial State: Ruling Families and States in Early Modern Europe (forthcoming)
253 pp.6 x 9Illus: 5 b/w photographs, 7 tables
9780520234857$31.95|£27.00Paper
Aug 2002