Medical Imperialism in French North Africa: Regenerating the Jewish Community of Colonial Tunis

215 Pages·2017·2.86 MB·English

by  Richard C. Parks

MEDICAL IMPERIALISM IN
FRENCH NORTH AFRICA
FRANCE OVERSEAS: STUDIES IN
EMPIRE AND DECOLONIZATION
Series editors: A. J. B. Johnston,
James D. Le Sueur, and Tyler Stovall
Medical Imperialism in
French North Africa
Regenerating the
Jewish Community
of Colonial Tunis
RICHARD C. PARKS
University of Nebraska Press
LINCOLN AND LONDON
© 2017 by the Board of Regents of
the University of Nebraska
Portions of chapter 2 originally appeared as “Divide et
Impera: Public Health and Urban Reform in Interwar
Tunis” in Journal of North African Studies 17, no. 3 (2012):
533– 46. Portions of chapter 3 originally appeared as
“The Jewish Quarters of Interwar Paris and Tunis:
Destruction, Creation, and French Urban Design”
in Jewish Social Studies 17, no. 1 (Fall 2001): 67– 87.
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Parks, Richard C., author.
Title: Medical imperialism in French North
Africa: regenerating the Jewish community
of colonial Tunis / Richard C. Parks.
Description: Lincoln: University of Nebraska
Press, 2017. | Series: France overseas | Includes
bibliographical references and index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2017011936 (print) |
LCCN 2017013963 (ebook)
ISBN 9781496202871 (epub)
ISBN 9781496202888 (mobi)
ISBN 9781496202895 (pdf)
ISBN 9780803268456 (cloth: alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Jews— Tunisia— Tunis— Social
conditions— 20th century. | Jews— Health and
hygiene— Tunisia— Tunis. | Public health— Tunisia—
History— French occupation, 1881– 1956. | Tunis
(Tunisia)— Social conditions— 20th century.
Classification: LCC DS135.T72 (ebook) | LCC DS135.
T72 .T867 2017 (print) | DDC 961.10049240904— dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017011936
Set in Merope by John Klopping.
Designed by N. Putens.
This book is dedicated to my parents,
Clyde and Wanda Parks, who always
taught me to value hard work and to
be kind to others. And to my sister,
Deanna, who is the only person who
can make me laugh until I cry.

CONTENTS
List of Maps ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xv
1. Situating Regeneration: Medicine,
Science, and “Modern” Bodies 1
2. Regenerating Space: Destruction and
Divided Communities 29
3. Regenerating Space, Part 2: Not All
Ghettoes Are the Same 63
4. Regenerating Youth: The Role of the
Alliance and the Rise of Zionism 95
5. Regenerating Women: The Assertion
of Reproductive Control 115
Conclusion: A Brief Reflection on Identity 139
Notes 143
Bibliography 163
Index 181

MAPS
1. Tunisia and the Maghrib xiii
2. Tunisia in relation to Europe xiv
3. Tunis enclaves, interwar era 54