According to alcohol historian William White, The disease concept of alcoholism “stands as the most widely cited (and least read) literary artifact of the modern alcoholism movement.” Published by Hillhouse Press, the publisher of the Yale Center of Alcohol Studies on behalf of the Christopher D. Smithers Foundation in 1960, E. M. Jellinek’s seminal book currently shows that it had been cited 4456 times (Google Scholar, April 2, 2023).
Although articles citing the book span from harsh criticism to unconditional approval in the scholarly literature and beyond, calling alcoholism the “Jellinek disease,” the English language had also cast its vote. Jellinek’s book is not the one we can ignore, whether writing about etiology, treatment, prevention, or language related to alcohol and substance use disorder. Leaving all that to more qualified researchers, this post merely sheds a light on the origins of the book as documented in the Rutgers Digital Alcohol Studies Archives.
Copyright
To begin with, who owns the copyright to this famous piece? The copyright registration of the book attributes The disease concept of alcoholism by E. M. Jellinek to Hillhouse Press with the address 432 Temple Street, New Haven, CT. The publisher of many publications of the Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol at the Yale University Center of Alcohol Studies, for all of its name changes, still publishes a scholarly journal, its successor, now called the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs at the Rutgers Center of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs published by Alcohol Research Documentation, Inc., a not-for-profit organization affiliated with Rutgers University. The promotional flyer shows that the book was available from the Publications Division of the Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies after the Center moved from Yale to Rutgers in 1962.
Language
In addition to the Yale Plan posters declaring alcoholism a disease in 1950, the title of Jellinek’s book, changing from “conception” to “concept” according to our documents, made a significant contribution to the public acceptance of alcoholism as a disease – regardless of whether Jellinek’s book should receive credit. It’s a case similar to what was pointed out by Ernest Kurtz in Alcoholics Anonymous and the Disease Concept of Alcoholism, i.e., A. A. neither originated nor promulgated the disease concept of alcoholism. However, Jellinek and his colleagues at Yale were pioneers dedicated to creating a vocabulary to alcohol research, including the definition of alcoholism, as demonstrated in the Rutgers Digital Alcohol Studies Archives. To illustrate his distinction in his own words, Jellinek states in the Introduction:
“Alcoholism is a concept, so is disease. But that alcoholism is a disease is a viewpoint and thus a conception. Nevertheless, I have bowed to the prevalent usage.”
Correspondence
In a letter dated November 4, 1960 that Jellinek sent to editor Mark Keller, the author expresses his satisfaction with the publication calling it “handsome” and suggests promotion ideas in the hope of successful sales. From the letter we can find out that his honorarium was $300, which “came in very very handy.” It saddens the 21st-century reader to read that one of the greatest minds in alcohol studies was facing financial difficulties in the last few years of his career.
A quote from United Printing Services, Inc. to Hillhouse Press, attn. Mark Keller, on The Disease Conception (sic!) of “Alcoholism” by Dr. E. L. Jellinek (sic!) re estimating the cost based on the revised specifications to follow the style of the Journal of Alcohol Studies (sic!). The source of this correspondence is the Papers of Mark Keller donated to the Center of Alcohol Studies Library, one of the finest collection of primary source materials in the entire field.
Further Research
As the letterhead of the Keller-Jellinek correspondence suggests, Jellinek held a visiting professorship at the University of Alberta at this time. The Rutgers Alcohol Archive owns the papers donated by George Strachan with plenty of information about Jellinek’s time in Canada in the 1960s as well as the famous Bunky Doodle, related to the phases of alcohol addiction. The content of two archival boxes is worthy of another post in the near future. Stay tuned!
References
- Bejarano, W. (2015). Language matters: Terminology in the scientific alcohol literature. Substance Abuse Library and Information Studies, 2, 39-45.
- Kurtz, E.(2002). Alcoholics Anonymous and the Disease Concept of Alcoholism, Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 20(3-4),5-39.
- White, W. (2000). Addiction as a disease: Birth of a concept. Counselor, 1(1), 46-51, 73.