John Libbey Eurotext




Race, biology and illness: the difficulty for patients suffering from sickle cell disease to organize themselves in the US
Sciences Sociales et Santé. Volume 16, Number 3, 129, Septembre 1998, Articles
Résumé
Author(s) : Duana Fullwiley
Summary : Sickle cell anemia, the first disease located at the molecular level in 1949, has long been understood as particular to african-americans. By examining the history of sickle cell disease in the US, this paper demonstrates the scientific and social production of sickle cell as a « black person’s disease ». The multiple processes of group construction and identification which take race and disease into account will be examined. The interplay of race, biology, and disease in the case of individual african-americans who are not part of larger patient organizations can help to explain the experience of sickle cell as an element of a « minority’s » reality in a society where differences made visible have resulted in discrimination of various forms.
Keywords :

Race, biology and illness: the difficulty for patients suffering from sickle cell disease to organize themselves in the US