Biography
Cecil Helman qualified in Cape Town, practised as a London GP for nearly three decades, and split his university career between UCL and Brunel. Culture, Health and Illness (Hodder Arnold and later Hodder Education imprints), first issued in 1984, introduced the "disease/illness" distinction and narrative-based models of the sick role to generations of medical students. He edited Social Science & Medicine, was elected to the Faculty of Public Health, and published poetry and essays as well as textbooks. He died in 2009 from complications of motor neurone disease.
Published writings & editorial work
Linked below are volumes and journals in this site's catalogue that carry this name on the imprint, title page, or editorial board. Open any title for the full synopsis, scope notes, and imprint history.
Authored / principal writer
- Culture, Health and Illness
Hodder Arnold
Author
Cecil Helman's defining text in medical anthropology. Argues that illness is never purely biological — that every encounter between patient and clinician is cultural as well as physiological — and gives clinicians the conceptual tools to work across cultural boundaries. Carrie…