Tamara Venit-Shelton

Tamara Venit-Shelton, author of 'Herbs and Roots: A History of Chinese Doctors in the American Medical Marketplace,' discusses the long history of Chinese medicine in the US. She explores the experiences of Chinese herbalists, their interactions with patients, and the impact of rising xenophobia and medical regulation. The podcast also covers the transmission of Chinese medicine, the adaptability of Chinese doctors in the US, and the vital support provided by Chinese herbalists to immigrant communities. Through interviews, it explores personal connections to the history of Chinese medicine and the integration of Chinese herbalists into mainstream medical care.

The modern popularity of acupuncture and herbal medicine belies the long history of Chinese medicine in the U.S. In Herbs and Roots: A History of Chinese Doctors in the American Medical Marketplace (Yale University Press, 2019), Tamara Venit-Shelton (Claremont McKenna College) examines the historical contexts that shaped perceptions of traditional Chinese medicine from the colonial period to the present. Venit-Shelton draws from court records, material culture, census records, oral interviews, and newspapers to uncover the multi-faceted roles that Chinese herbalists played in both Chinese and non-Chinese communities during the “long Progressive Era.”Through self-Orientalizing presentations, these health practitioners enterprisingly navigated, accommodated, and resisted waves of rising xenophobia and medical regulation. After a period of struggle between the 1930s and 1970s when depression and war disrupted supply chains, Chinese medicine made a roaring comeback even as increasing numbers of Chinese Americans trained in Western medicine, leading to the rise of integrative medicine. Herbs and Roots deepens our understanding of histories of medicine and public health, American Orientalism, Asian immigration to the US, and the environment and ideas of nature.Ian Shin is assistant professor of History and American Culture at the University of Michigan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/chinese-studies