The essays in this book are concerned with the dynamic relationship between health and place. In presenting this collection we explore a selection of historical and cultural instances in which the multiple meanings of health and place intersect. Some of these are rooted in materialist or physical interpretations; others preface the role of sentiment and affect in place attachment and illness experience; and others still delve into ontological and subjective engagements that help us to understand how health and place connect with aspects of identity, authenticity and sovereignty.

These concepts acquire texture through their material presence; for example, the observable symptoms of disease, the institutions of medical practice, or the political or geographical boundaries that delineate a place. In terms of experience, behaviour is conditioned through health and illness and is further mediated by social context, local practices and resources. These concepts are also applied more abstractly; place becomes a plastic and ephemeral ingredient in the formulation of memory, in attitudes that culminate in response to historical injustices, or where health is interpreted through beliefs and practices that are profoundly shaped by ethno-cultural identities. Moving from a materialist analysis to a more abstract conceptualization destabilizes our understandings of health, place, and the interactions between the two, but also enriches our appreciation of how people respond to illness in rooted and constructive ways.