Howard Phillips Launches His Jacana Pocket History: Plague, Pox and Pandemics

 
The launch of Plague, Pox and Pandemics: A Jacana Pocket History of Epidemics in South Africa by Howard Phillips was appropriately held at the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine at the University of Cape Town. A lively crowd, including Phillips’ family and students, gathered in the Wolfson Pavilion to celebrate the publication of this new edition to the Jacana Pocket History series.

Jacana’s Russell Martin started the evening off with a quick introduction to the series and mentioned that he and Phillips regularly go for walks which include somewhat more talking that actual walking. It was on one of these walks that the idea for the book came up. Martin then introduced guest speaker, Professor William Pick, who is the former President of the South African Medical Research Council and former Head of the School of Public Health at the University of Witwatersrand.

Pick said that the book focuses on an interesting set of epidemics and he found it fascinating to read about how the victim-blaming for these illnesses has shifted over the years. “It’s interesting to look at the macro-political machinations that flow from epidemics” Pick said. “I want to compliment Howard because the sheer scale of the epidemics is graspable because of the figures he has included…and I want to thank him for giving me a better perspective on epidemics. The book provides an extraordinary view on epidemics and also enhances our understanding of human society.”

Phillips started his speech joking that this would be a litmus test for the saying ‘Speak loudly and people will hear, speak softly and they will listen’ as he had lost his voice. He thanked Pick and the audience for their support, saying that research and writing are lonely activities and it’s satifying to be able to finally share the book with others.

Phillips noted that he wasn’t totally sold on the concept for his book cover but joked that the Jacana logo was perhaps a subtle reference to avian flu. Despite their differences regarding the cover he said that there was practically no disagreement between him and Martin about the text and thanked him for his professionalism and personal encouragment. He also thanked his colleagues at UCT and expressed his deep gratitude to his family for supporting him and giving up ‘family time’ with him.

Two years after he started working at UCT, where he is a professor in the Department of Historical Studies, he stumbled across information on the Spanish Flu epidemic which was the topic of his first book, The Spanish Influenza Pandemic of 1918-1919: New Perspectives, and now, two years before his official retirement, he has published Plague, Pox and Pandemics. His conclusion: “Epidemics quite neatly bookend my career!”

“The interaction of humans, the environment and microbes over time is what makes history,” said Phillips, elaborating on the misconception that it is humans alone who influence history. Epidemics highlight the daily functioning and mis-functioning of society, but it wasn’t until the late 1980s that historians started paying attention to these epidemics. “Maybe this little book will play some small part in bringing attention to these epidemics. Maybe, just maybe, it will then deserve this attention-seeking cover,” Phillips concluded.

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Book details

• Plague, Pox and Pandemics: A Jacana Pocket History of Epidemics in South Africa by Howard Phillips
  EAN: 9781431403851
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