The Recent Wave of 'Spanish' Flu Historiography

This article surveys the surge of writing over the last 15 years by social and medical scientists on the topic of the devastating ‘Spanish’ influenza pandemic of 1918–1919, which it labels a ‘second wave’ of this pandemic's historiography. It views this work in three ways: by looking, first, at what wider, contextual factors triggered this explosion of writing; secondly, at the authors of these works and their specific motivations for taking up the subject; and thirdly, at how their labours have altered, refined or re-shaped our understanding of this great catastrophe's origin, its direct and indirect toll, its differential incidence by class and gender, its tripartite connections to the First World War, its portrayal in the contemporary press, and its impact on medical science. Finally, the article urges that a number of new lenses should be brought to bear on the pandemic as its centenary approaches, to provide a 360 degree perspective on it. Viewing it thus, it suggests, could well yield a third wave of pandemic historiography.
Source: Social History of Medicine - Category: History of Medicine Authors: Tags: Second Opinion Source Type: research