Tropical Medicine beyond Borders: Robert Hutson Kokernot's Assignment in Apartheid South Africa and His Fieldwork in Colonial Mozambique (1954-1960)

Abstract

From 1954 to 1960, an American veterinarian and doctor of medicine named Robert Hutson Kokernot was employed by the Rockefeller Foundation to conduct virological research in southern Africa. During this period, he relocated with his wife and children to Johannesburg to work at the South African Institute for Medical Research. His research resulted not only in the discovery of arboviruses previously unknown to science, but also in the production of dozens of colored short films shot during his fieldwork in Portuguese African territories, as well as rich correspondence with friends, colleagues, and relatives around the world. This report offers a preliminary analysis of archival documents related to Kokernot's stay in South Africa to indicate how they can be helpful in studying complex historical phenomena ranging from race relations in apartheid South Africa to Makonde artistry in colonial Mozambique