Cecil Helman
Cecil Helman (4 January 1944 – 15 June 2009) was a South African doctor, author, and medical anthropologist. He published poetry, essays, and short stories, as well as academic books and papers.
Cecil Helman
- Born
- 1944 · Cape Town.
- Died
- 2009 · London.
- Occupation
- writer · physician · poet · docent · anthropologist
- Education
- University College London · University of Cape Town
- Languages
- English
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wikidata · Q17612385 · wikipedia · Cecil Helman
In this article
Early life and education
Early life and education
Helman was the son of a doctor in Cape Town, South Africa. His father was a psychiatrist for the South African government who would often take Helman to mental hospitals during summer breaks from school. He graduated from the University of Cape Town Medical School (1967). During the civil unrest as a result of apartheid in South Africa, Helman was disturbed by the idea of being conscripted into the South African army. Shortly after completing medical school he moved to Great Britain, where he studied social anthropology at University College London.
Professional life
Professional life
From 1973 till 2000, Helman was a family doctor in London, working for the National Health Service. Helman was also Professor of Medical Anthropology at Brunel University, Uxbridge, England; and a senior lecturer in the Research Department of Primary Care & Population Health, University College London Medical School, where he taught courses on cross-cultural health care. He was a visiting fellow in social medicine and health policy at Harvard Medical School (1983); Hooker Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (1991); visiting professor in the Multicultural Health Program, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia (2001); and visiting professor in the Division of Family Medicine and Public Health & the Department of Social Anthropology, University of Cape Town, South Africa (2007).
Places
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Places
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Cape Town.
Birth place
London.
Death place
Publications
Helman's writings focus on patients' personal narratives and experience of ill-health and suffering, as well as the roles played in medical care by social and cultural factors. Suburban Shaman, his 2006 memoir of medical school in apartheid South Africa, ship's doctoring in the Mediterranean, family practice in London, and visits to traditional healers in different countries, was serialized by BBC Radio 4 as its 'Book of the Week' in March 2006. His textbook Culture, Health and Illness, first published in 1984, has been used in many countries. In his academic capacity, he also wrote articles in medical journals. His books include: • Medical Anthropology (Editor) (2008) • Culture, Health and Illness (5th ed) m(2007) • Suburban Shaman: Tales from Medicine's Frontline (2006) • Doctors and Patients: An Anthology (Editor) (2003) • Irregular Numbers of Beasts and Birds (2006) • The Other Half of the Dream (0-9744503-1-6) (2004) • The Body of Frankenstein's Monster: Essays in Myth and Medicine (1992) • Body Myths (1991) • The Golden Toenails of Ambrosio P (1990) • The Exploding Newspaper and other Fables (1980)
Honors
Career Achievement Award, Society for Medical Anthropology, American Anthropological Association (2004) Lucy Mair Medal for Applied Anthropology from the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain (2005) George Abercrombie Award from the Royal College of General Practitioners (2009) Medical Journalists' Association 2007 Book of the Year Award for Suburban Shaman (2007) Helman has also delivered the David Rogers Colloquium on Health Policy at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University (2005); the Astrid Janzon Memorial Lecture at the Red Cross University College of Nursing, Stockholm, Sweden (2006); and the Cabot Lecture in the Division of Primary Care, Harvard Medical School, Boston (2007).
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Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Cecil Helman, revision 1364603927 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.van der Geest, Sjaak. In Memoriam: Cecil G. Helman (1944-2009). researchgate.net.
- 2.Rosenthal. Cecil Helman. The BMJ. 339. 22 July 2009. 10.1136/bmj.b2904.
- 3.Doctors and Patients: an anthology (Book Review). Christian Medical Fellowship - cmf.org.uk.
- 4.Review: Suburban Shaman: Tales from Medicine's Frontline, by Cecil Helman Curriculum Vital.
- 5.Book review: Suburban Shaman. British Journal of General Practice.
- 6.Modell, Michael. Obituary: Cecil Helman. London Journal of Primary Care. 2. 180–181. 2009. 10.1080/17571472.2009.11493282.
- 7.Singh, S. " Book review: The Suburban Shaman". Medical Humanities.
- 8.THE BODY OF FRANKENSTEIN'S MONSTER | Kirkus Reviews.
- 9.Mark Jackson. The Age of Stress: Science and the Search for Stability. Oxford University Press. 209–. 28 March 2013. 978-0-19-958862-6.
- 10.Like, Robert. "Culture, Health and Illness (Book)" Public Health Reports Jul/Aug2001, Vol. 116 Issue 4, p369
- 11.Campkin, Marie. Doctors and patients: an anthology . Family Practice
- 12.SMA awards: Career Achievement Award Recipient.
- 13.Lucy Mair Medal.
- 14.Singh, Surinder. Cecil Helman: GP, anthropologist, writer, poet, teacher, and internationalist. The British Journal of General Practice. 59. 567. 790. October 1, 2009. 10.3399/bjgp09X472782.
- 15.Top award for 'Suburban Shaman' . University College London news.
References
Citations
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reference work
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 31 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
39,529 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Cecil Arthur LewisAuthor
- Cecil B. DeMilleAuthor
- Cecil Boden KlossAuthor
- Cecil Day-LewisAuthor
- Cecil Spring-RiceAuthor
- Cecil TaylorAuthor
- Cécile CloutierAuthor
- Cécile CoulonAuthor
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