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China Gadabouts

China Gadabouts

New Frontiers of Humanitarian Nursing, 1941–51

by Susan Armstrong-Reid

Published by: University of British Columbia Press

Imprint: UBC Press

356 Pages, 152.00 × 229.00 mm, 34 photos, 11 maps

Paperback
9780774835930
Published: July 2018

£28.99

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Hardcover
9780774835923
Published: December 2017

£68.00

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Description
Contents
Authors
Praise

The Sino-Japanese War (1937–45) had a devastating impact on China's civilian population. Braving bandits, disease, and dangerous roads, the China Convoy – a Quaker-sponsored humanitarian unit – delivered medical supplies and provided famine relief in the unoccupied territory of "Free China" and later to both sides in the ensuing civil war. China Gadabouts examines the contested roles played by Western and Chinese nurses in the Convoy's humanitarian efforts from 1941 to 1951. In so doing, it re-examines the quandaries of Quakers' purportedly apolitical global engagement that remain salient for contemporary humanitarians. Susan Armstrong-Reid explores how this work gave meaning to the women's lives and how they attempted to carve out personal and professional space despite a chaotic, unfamiliar, and occasionally hostile environment. China Gadabouts illuminates the ethical dilemmas, professional challenges, and opportunities presented by humanitarian nursing within a Western-based relief organization, while acknowledging its contentious imperial role. In doing so, it spotlights an understudied area of global nursing – its role within INGOs, now more active than ever in global health care.

Introduction

Part 1: From Regional War to Global War, 1941–45

Introduction to Part 1

1 Trial by Fire: Early Field Operations, 1941–42

2 A Marriage of Convenience: Courting the Chinese Nurses, 1942–43

3 The Salween Campaign: Humanitarian Diplomacy, 1944–45

4 "China Needs Good Men, and Still Better Women," British Nurses, 1943–44

5 Baoshan: Professionalism, Pacifism, and Proposals, 1944–45

Part 2: Navigating New Humanitarian Frontiers, 1945–51

Introduction to Part 2

6 The Road to Honan: Plagues, Cholera, and Devilish Devolutions, 1944–45

7 Henan: Hope and Despair, 1945–47

8 "Early Team": Guerrilla Warfare Nursing, 1946–47

Part 3: Unwelcome Visitors: Negotiating Access with The Communists, 1947–51

Introduction to Part 3

9 Nursing beyond the Trenches, 1947–50

Conclusion: Nurse Warriors without Weapons

Notes; Bibliography; Index

Susan Armstrong-Reid is an adjunct professor in the Department of History at the University of Guelph. She is the author of Lyle Creelman: The Frontiers of Global Nursing (2014) and coauthor, with David Murray, of Armies of Peace: Canada and the UNRRA Years (2008). In 2016, she was the recipient of the H-15 Grant from the American Association for the History of Nursing, and in 2012–13 of the Lillian Sholtis Brunner Fellowship from the Barbara Bates Centre for the History of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania. A member of the Executive Committee of the Canadian Association for the History of Nursing, she also serves on the Leadership Advisory Board at the University of Guelph.

The book contributes in an interesting and valuable way to the history of nursing by women in faith. - Charmaine Robson, University of New South Wales (Health and History, Vol. 20, No. 2)