Go to AfricaBib home

Go to AfricaBib home AfricaBib Go to database home

bibliographic database
Line
Previous page New search

The free AfricaBib App for Android is available here

Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Remembering Korle Bu Hospital: biomedical heritage and colonial nostalgia in the 'Golden Jubilee Souvenir'
Author:Roberts, JonathanISNI
Year:2011
Periodical:History in Africa (ISSN 1558-2744)
Volume:38
Pages:193-226
Language:English
Geographic term:Ghana
Subjects:hospitals
historiography
health personnel
medical history
colonial period
race relations
External link:http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/history_in_africa/v038/38.1.roberts.pdf
Abstract:Built in 1923 as the 'Gold Coast Hospital', Korle Bu was the most advanced hospital in what is today Ghana. Over the course of fifty years, many residents of Accra developed an affection for the institution. During the fiftieth anniversary celebrations, a commemorative booklet was published: the 'Korle Bu Hospital Golden Jubilee Souvenir (1923-1973)', containing a range of historical information about the hospital. Besides a mixture of archival documents and over 100 photos, the booklet is comprised of a collection of reminiscences about the early years at the institution, in the form of 18 written accounts submitted by former employees. Using examples from both the official history and these personal reminiscences, the present article outlines the way that biomedical heritage is constructed within the booklet, and describes the complex emotions of colonial nostalgia felt by the former employees of Korle Bu who lived through the transition from colonial subject to Ghanaian citizen. While the nostalgic remembrances of Korle Bu in the 'Souvenir' recall the formation of a new class of Gold Coast-born biomedical professionals, they also show how the racialized structure of colonial rule continued to present limits to their professional advancement, no matter what their level of medical expertise. Bibliogr., notes, ref. [ASC Leiden abstract]
Views
Cover