In Conjuring the State, A. Kim Clark analyzes how public health became a central arena for the articulation of the modern Ecuadorean state. Clark tells the history of the Servicio de Sanidad in the early twentieth century through the encounters of various administrators who, in conversation with one another, the state, and the general population, responded to plagues, built institutions, and developed and spread knowledge about the state's and society's roles in the nation's health. Among the myriad histories of modern state formations that reveal the complex dynamics of government-society relations, Clark's uniquely employs intersecting historical and political anthropology methodologies to offer insights into “how things got done,” including how officials felt along the way (p. 6; emphasis in original). Her research reveals the growing pains of building a new system for managing a population amid crises of disease, economic strain, and wavering public (and sometimes governmental) cooperation....

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