One afterthought: if someone was teaching the social history of alcohol in the US,  one option would be to use Madelon Powers' book (Faces along the Bar) on drinking cultures, on one side, and Blocker or Valverde on the societal responses to drinking.   Robin
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Brian S. Katcher <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: den 12 september 1999 22:09
Subject: Re: course on alcohol


>For a history of medicine perspective on alcohol-related harm, during
>the 19th & 20th centuries, I recommend a paper that I wrote a few
>years ago:  Katcher BS, Benjamin Rush's Educational Campaign Against
>Hard Drinking, American Journal of Public Health 1993: vol 83,
>273-281.
>
>>(1) I suspect historians may have some reservations about it, but
>>for an ambitious synthetic effort take a look at Mariana Valverde,
>>Diseases of the Will: Alcohol and the Dilemmas of Freedom, Cambridge
>>University Press, 1998.
>> (2)   As an overview of its territory, it seems to me hard to beat
>>Blocker's American Temperance Movements: Cycles of Reform.
>> (3)   For a good discussion which argues that the positive side of
>>drinking is intrinsically bound up with the negative, see later
>>chapters of:
>>    Juha Partanen, Sociability and Intoxication: Alcohol and
>>Drinking in Kenya, Africa, and the Modern World.  Helsinki: Finnish
>>Foundation for Alcohol Studies, vol. 39, 1991. (I think still
>>distributed in US by Rutgers Center for Alcohol Studies).
>>    As the title suggests, this is in a context of a review of the
>>cultural history and position of drinking in sub-Saharan Africa.
>>Robin Room
>>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: Frederick H. Smith <[log in to unmask]>
>>To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
>>Date: den 11 september 1999 22:48
>>Subject: Re: course on alcohol
>>
>>
>> >In response to Dan Malleck's request:
>> >        I'm currently teaching a course "A cultural history of alcohol" in
>> >the Honors department at the University of Florida. The course combines
>> >anthropological and historical approaches to drinking. Emphasis is on
>> >traditional uses of alcohol in the developing world. Geoffrey Giles'
>> >"Alcohol in history" course provided a good foundation and would be an
>> >excellent model for any social history of alcohol course. So far, the
>> >cross-cultural perspective has been well received. Although we have not yet
>> >reached the week, Emmanuel Akyeampong's recent social history of drink in
>> >Ghana has already generated some good discussion outside of class. I have
>> >also received positive feedback from students about W. Taylor's Drink,
>> >homocide... and M. Powers Faces along the bar. Many of the readings are
>> >articles from Barrows and Room (unfortunately out-of-print), as well as the
>> >readers from M. Marshall (1979) and M. Everett, J. Waddell, and D. Heath
>> >(1976). The students in the Honors program are at an advanced academic
>> >level and preliminary responses suggest they have embraced the broad
>> >cross-cultural perspective. They are using this course as an opportunity to
>> >explore a broad range of cultural ideas and to examine non-western uses of
>> >alcohol traditionally overlooked.
>> >
>> >                                                        Frederick H. Smith
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >>I'm proposing a course on the history of alcohol, broadly construed (I'll
>> >>narrow it down soon enough) and am looking for decent general histories, or
>> >>collections.  I know of "The changing face of drink" and earlier
>> >>collections ("Alcohol, Reform and Society" for example.. part of my
>> >>personal Jack Blocker library!) but could use a few more suggestions...
>> >>especially something that is accessible for non-historians.
>> >>
>> >>The course I'm proposing is for general students, but especially students
>> >>of viticulture, so wine history would also be useful.
>> >>
>> >>I know similar questions have been asked of this list before, but they were
>> >>a while back, and new material might be available (for example, I seem to
>> >>recall Rod Phillips was talking about developing such a course or text a
>> >>few months ago).  So any suggestions will be appreciated.
>> >>
>> >>Cheers.
>> >>
>> >>Dan Malleck
>> >>================================================================
>> >>[log in to unmask]
>> >>
>> >>"It is not because things are difficult that we do not try them, it is
>> >>because we do not try them that they are difficult."  --Seneca
>> >
>> >
>> >Frederick H. Smith
>> >University of Florida
>> >Department of Anthropology
>> >1116 Turlington Hall
>> >Gainesville, Fl 32611
>> >[log in to unmask]