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THE STRANGE DISAPPEARANCE OF HISTORY FROM RACIAL HEALTH DISPARITIES RESEARCH

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 April 2011

Merlin Chowkwanyun
Merlin Chowkwanyun*
Affiliation:
Department of History, Graduate Program in Public Health Studies, University of Pennsylvania
*
Merlin Chowkwanyun, Department of History, Graduate Program in Public Health Studies, University of Pennsylvania, 208 College Hall, Philadelphia, PA 19104. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Although thriving in many respects, racial health disparities research suffers from a lack of historical analysis and may be in danger of reaching a saturation point. This article examines how renewed attention to history can enhance the explanatory power of such research. First, it surveys a body of writing on what history can contribute to contemporary social science and policy debates. Next, it compares current racial health disparities research to the analytical impasse encountered by urban poverty researchers of the late 1980s and early 1990s. It contrasts that work with two classic post-Second World War urban histories, and identifies qualities of the latter lacking in conventional social science. The essay then surveys historically oriented works on race and health, pointing out their usefulness to racial health disparities research while discussing promising future research directions. It concludes with a brief reflection on changes in the academic institutional context necessary for fruitful synergy between public health researchers and historians.

Keywords

Racial/Ethnic Health DisparitiesAfrican American HistoryUrban PovertyMethodologyPublic HealthSocial Determinants of HealthFundamental Causes
Type
Learning Lessons from the Past
Information
Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race , Volume 8 , Issue 1: Special Issue: Racial Inequality and Health , Spring 2011 , pp. 253 - 270
Copyright
Copyright © W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research 2011

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