In the rush to development in Botswana, and Africa more generally,
changes in work, diet, and medical care have resulted in escalating experiences of
chronic illness, debilitating disease, and accident. Debility and the Moral
Imagination in Botswana documents how transformations wrought by colonialism,
independence, industrialization, and development have effected changes in bodily
life and perceptions of health, illness, and debility. In this intimate and powerful
book, Julie Livingston explores the lives of debilitated persons, their caregivers,
the medical and social networks of caring, and methods that communities have adopted
for promoting well-being. Livingston traces how Tswana medical thought and practice
have become intertwined with Western bio-medical ideas and techniques. By focusing
on experiences and meanings of illness and bodily misfortune, Livingston sheds light
on the complexities of the current HIV/AIDS epidemic and places it in context with a
long and complex history of impairment and debility. This book presents practical
and thoughtful responses to physical misfortune and offers an understanding of the
complex dynamic between social change and suffering.
