List of Figures  vii

Acknowledgments  ix

Introduction: A History of Tuberculosis in Modern Buenos Aires  1

1. People with Tuberculosis Looking for Cures  23

2. From Being Sick to Becoming a Patient  49

3. Unruly and Well-Adjusted Patients  84

4. The Fight against Tuberculosis and the Culture of Hygiene  115

5. The Obsession with Contagion  141

6. A Disease of Excesses  189

7. Immigration, Race, and Tuberculosis  221

8. A Female Disease  251

9. Forging the Healthy Body: Physical Education, Soccer, Childhood, and Tuberculosis  276

10. Tuberculosis and Regeneration: Imagined Cities, Green Spaces, and Hygienic Housing  307

Epilogue  345

Abbreviations  351

Notes  353

Selected Bibliography  397

Index  409

“Diego Armús has written an important book that tells us much about how the reaction to tuberculosis helped create the modern society of the city of Buenos Aires. The impact was not just on hospitals, sanatoria and those who suffered the disease – tuberculosis also had a significant and interesting impact on many sectors of the city’s culture. This is a book well worth reading.”—Joel Horowitz, The Journal of Latin American Studies

“This work is rich in personal anecdotes and depth of field, showing the resonance of disease in music, theater, poetry, and sports. ... [I]t is most welcome for those interested in the social history of disease, and specialists in the history of Argentina.”—Donna J. Guy, Journal of Interdisciplinary History

“New approaches to the history of science and medicine in Latin
America have broadened this discipline and grounded disease... [and] Diego Armus’s Ailing City is a thoughtful addition to this well-established yet dynamic field.... His scholarship contributes to the broader context of the debate in which public health becomes part of the political and cultural landscape. In addition, it contributes to the field of nation building and paints a more complete picture of Latin American history. It pushes the reader to develop a more nuanced understanding of the intersection of disease, nation, and society in the Argentine context and provides a solid point of comparison with other parts of the Americas and beyond. Ailing City is well written and meticulously researched and a welcome contribution to the history of Argentina, science, and medicine.”—Melissa E. Gormley, Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences

“The Ailing City is a testament to the achievements of the sociocultural approach to urban history and a good example of why the study of Buenos Aires continues to push the boundaries of Argentine historiography.”—Brian Bockelman, H-Net Reviews

“This book is a valuable addition to the history of Buenos Aires and to the history of medicine. Instructors in these fields as well as in urban studies will welcome its appearance in English.”—Julia Rodriguez, American Historical Review

“In recovering the history of tuberculosis as a disease that has also existed as metaphor and cultural trope, Armus has produced a study that should appeal to a wide reading public, not just to professional historians.”
— Yolanda Eraso, Social History of Medicine

“This analysis of the discourses, practices, and images of tuberculosis in late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Buenos Aires delivers a comprehensive overview of the many ways in which fears about the disease influenced daily life in the Argentine metropolis. ... Armus’s book is a rich and welcome study of how discussions about disease prevention and control reflected broader cultural and political anxieties during a period of significant social change in Argentina.”—Katherine Bliss, The Americas

“This is an important book based on an exhaustive examination of materials on TB as a disease and cultural artifact. It will be essential reading for those interested in Latin American History, the social history of disease, the history of TB and Argentine History.” —Ann Zulawski, Global Public Health

“At a time when the spectre of tuberculosis has again raised its ugly head across the world, this well informed history of the disease and its treatment in the Argentine capital makes a significant contribution to public health debates…. [T]his book is worth reading, revealing as it does that combating disease is never just the preserve of scientists and technocrats, but often a political task that involves taking a hard look at poverty and social deprivation.” —GO’T, The Latin American Review of Books

“The Ailing City is an interesting and important work...”—Susan M. Socolow, Bulletin of the History of Medicine

“... The Ailing City serves as a exemplary work in the social and cultural history of disease, and it will justifiably become a prized resource on its topic.”—Mariola Espinosa, Medical History

“For its thought-provoking analysis of the discourses surrounding tuberculosis, based on deep immersion in historical archives, and for its reconstruction of the clandestine, perilous corners of dynamic urban life, The Ailing City deserves attention from historical geographers, especially those with an interest in the modernization of Latin American cities.”—Eric D. Carter, Journal of Historical Geography

“The Ailing City is a translation from the original Spanish edition and is much improved in chapter organization; it now moves seamlessly from individual experiences to the social and political implications of the disease.”—Jonathan Ablard, Isis

“…[T]he best of a very recent historiographic turn, where scholars have begun to go past traditional approaches, by addressing new, dynamic methods…[S]et[s] conceptual standards…that will be of value to historians of many places and times.” —David Sheinin, Canadian Journal of History

“Readers interested in the history of health care will find in The Ailing City a welcome opportunity to learn about a time and place normally beyond the historical canon in terms of geography and language. That said, although Armus does not make any explicit comparative arguments, it is not difficult to substitute Philadelphia, New York, or Boston for Buenos Aires and discern the vast number of parallels and handful of critical differences. Such a comparison is possible because of the laudably comprehensive and multi-faceted nature of Armus’s approach, through which he also details much about the history of health and healing in Buenos Aires independently of the particulars of tuberculosis. As such, The Ailing City is both an excellent introduction to the histories of tuberculosis and Buenos Aires and a resource for scholars more familiar with these subjects.”—Jonathan Hagood, Nursing History Review: Official journal of the American Association for the History of Nursing

“Diego Armús has written an important book that tells us much about how the reaction to tuberculosis helped create the modern society of the city of Buenos Aires. The impact was not just on hospitals, sanatoria and those who suffered the disease – tuberculosis also had a significant and interesting impact on many sectors of the city’s culture. This is a book well worth reading.”—Joel Horowitz, The Journal of Latin American Studies

“This work is rich in personal anecdotes and depth of field, showing the resonance of disease in music, theater, poetry, and sports. ... [I]t is most welcome for those interested in the social history of disease, and specialists in the history of Argentina.”—Donna J. Guy, Journal of Interdisciplinary History

“New approaches to the history of science and medicine in Latin
America have broadened this discipline and grounded disease... [and] Diego Armus’s Ailing City is a thoughtful addition to this well-established yet dynamic field.... His scholarship contributes to the broader context of the debate in which public health becomes part of the political and cultural landscape. In addition, it contributes to the field of nation building and paints a more complete picture of Latin American history. It pushes the reader to develop a more nuanced understanding of the intersection of disease, nation, and society in the Argentine context and provides a solid point of comparison with other parts of the Americas and beyond. Ailing City is well written and meticulously researched and a welcome contribution to the history of Argentina, science, and medicine.”—Melissa E. Gormley, Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences

“The Ailing City is a testament to the achievements of the sociocultural approach to urban history and a good example of why the study of Buenos Aires continues to push the boundaries of Argentine historiography.”—Brian Bockelman, H-Net Reviews

“This book is a valuable addition to the history of Buenos Aires and to the history of medicine. Instructors in these fields as well as in urban studies will welcome its appearance in English.”—Julia Rodriguez, American Historical Review

“In recovering the history of tuberculosis as a disease that has also existed as metaphor and cultural trope, Armus has produced a study that should appeal to a wide reading public, not just to professional historians.”
— Yolanda Eraso, Social History of Medicine

“This analysis of the discourses, practices, and images of tuberculosis in late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Buenos Aires delivers a comprehensive overview of the many ways in which fears about the disease influenced daily life in the Argentine metropolis. ... Armus’s book is a rich and welcome study of how discussions about disease prevention and control reflected broader cultural and political anxieties during a period of significant social change in Argentina.”—Katherine Bliss, The Americas

“This is an important book based on an exhaustive examination of materials on TB as a disease and cultural artifact. It will be essential reading for those interested in Latin American History, the social history of disease, the history of TB and Argentine History.” —Ann Zulawski, Global Public Health

“At a time when the spectre of tuberculosis has again raised its ugly head across the world, this well informed history of the disease and its treatment in the Argentine capital makes a significant contribution to public health debates…. [T]his book is worth reading, revealing as it does that combating disease is never just the preserve of scientists and technocrats, but often a political task that involves taking a hard look at poverty and social deprivation.” —GO’T, The Latin American Review of Books

“The Ailing City is an interesting and important work...”—Susan M. Socolow, Bulletin of the History of Medicine

“... The Ailing City serves as a exemplary work in the social and cultural history of disease, and it will justifiably become a prized resource on its topic.”—Mariola Espinosa, Medical History

“For its thought-provoking analysis of the discourses surrounding tuberculosis, based on deep immersion in historical archives, and for its reconstruction of the clandestine, perilous corners of dynamic urban life, The Ailing City deserves attention from historical geographers, especially those with an interest in the modernization of Latin American cities.”—Eric D. Carter, Journal of Historical Geography

“The Ailing City is a translation from the original Spanish edition and is much improved in chapter organization; it now moves seamlessly from individual experiences to the social and political implications of the disease.”—Jonathan Ablard, Isis

“…[T]he best of a very recent historiographic turn, where scholars have begun to go past traditional approaches, by addressing new, dynamic methods…[S]et[s] conceptual standards…that will be of value to historians of many places and times.” —David Sheinin, Canadian Journal of History

“Readers interested in the history of health care will find in The Ailing City a welcome opportunity to learn about a time and place normally beyond the historical canon in terms of geography and language. That said, although Armus does not make any explicit comparative arguments, it is not difficult to substitute Philadelphia, New York, or Boston for Buenos Aires and discern the vast number of parallels and handful of critical differences. Such a comparison is possible because of the laudably comprehensive and multi-faceted nature of Armus’s approach, through which he also details much about the history of health and healing in Buenos Aires independently of the particulars of tuberculosis. As such, The Ailing City is both an excellent introduction to the histories of tuberculosis and Buenos Aires and a resource for scholars more familiar with these subjects.”—Jonathan Hagood, Nursing History Review: Official journal of the American Association for the History of Nursing

“An infectious disease linked to poverty, debauched sexuality, and ailing cities, tuberculosis was forged into myths that influenced doctors and patients, everyday urban life, popular culture, and scientific ideologies. The Ailing City is a powerful depiction of the illness and its victims and a poignant social and cultural history.”—Beatriz Sarlo, author of The Technical Imagination: Argentine Culture’s Modern Dreams

“Today, when TB is once again a global threat, we need historical studies to document the fact that the disease has always been about much more than bacilli. Diego Armus’s rich account of the extraordinarily varied and complex ways that TB entered into individual lives and public consciousness in Buenos Aires between 1870 and 1950 is a wonderful example of what the new history of medicine in Latin America can achieve.”—Nancy Leys Stepan, author of “The Hour of Eugenics”: Race, Gender, and Nation in Latin America

“In this splendidly rich study, Diego Armus shows how tuberculosis was intertwined with almost every facet of life in Buenos Aires, from the world of work to popular entertainment. With admirable attention to the lives of the sick and issues such as immigration and modernization, The Ailing City ranks among the finest cultural histories of disease.”—Mark Harrison, University of Oxford

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