Beyond the State: The Colonial Medical Service in British Africa

The goal of this edited collection is to bring “new eyes and new perspectives” to the study of the Colonial Medical Services (cms) in British Africa (1). In doing so, the book broadens the conversation between colonial medical historians and scholars in religious studies, anthropology, and other fields, expanding our view of how colonial systems are shaped over time and inspiring us to think beyond traditional sources and categories. In her introduction, Greenwood argues that the cms sought to portray itself as a white, male, and all-British institution; official archives reflect as much. Though acknowledging its often racist and self-serving policies “ultimately coloured by colonial self-interest” (14), Greenwood seeks to complicate the picture of a homogenous medical service, noting that the physicians were a mixed and “eclectic bunch” whose interactions with a diverse set of stakeholders in specific contexts gave shape to, and limited, specific policy ideas and...