Anatole Bernet

My research project aims to examine the idea of a 'health transition', i.e. a paradigm shift in both knowledge and health practices, in Japan in the years following the country's opening to Western influences. The period was marked by a twofold change in terms of diseases: not only did exogenous pathologies (such as the plague) enter Japanese territory, but modern medical science, supported by the rapid training of Japanese health professionals, became widespread. Based on this observation, I intend to examine the repercussions and limits of this alteration on the professional world of health, training institutions and the practice of medicine, as well as on the health and practices of the Japanese population. From this examination, I wish to raise the question of a 'health transition' in Japan between 1870 and 1930, a term that proposes a cross-disciplinary approach between the history of medical science and the history of populations.

TEACHING ACTIVITY