Italian colonial medicine in Libya 1912-1940.

• Applicant: Dr. Alessandra Parodi
• Subject Area: History of Science ; Modern and Contemporary History
• Term: from 2019 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 428878802

The issue of sanitation of the populations colonised by Italy in Libya since 1912, as well as of Italian settler families, had a central place in the general colonial literature and in the colonial medical treatises written by doctors in the period 1912-1943. Nevertheless, the topic remained unaddressed in research until now. In the course of the first phase of the project, several results were obtained: It was observed that in the works of the doctors working in Libya, the topic of the "reconquest" of Libya by the supposed "heirs" of ancient Rome played a significant role. The topic was one of those that sought consensus for colonisation in the motherland. Health policies in the colony, the concrete aspects of which will be specified in the course of the project, served to increase the (modest) productivity of the colonial enterprise, but was hyped as a "civilising mission". Italy and Libya were characterised in the medical literature as climatically and nosographically similar enough that Italians could successfully be acclimatised. However, Italians and Libyans were portrayed as culturally and also "racially" different in the works of doctors and colonial officials. This is equally evident in the interpretation of disease patterns. However, some authors were interested in indigenous healing practices in order to make cultural penetration in Libya more efficient. In order to answer the question of practical health care, ambiguities and overtly racist moments in colonial literature, a further funding period of one year is now requested. This application is also necessary because important archives and libraries in Rome and Florence had closed in September 2020 and now the gaps are to be filled.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants