The anthropology of alternative medicine /
Ross, Anamaria Iosif,author.
Credo Reference (Firm),distributor.
Alternative medicine is not a fashionable new trend but an established cultural strategy, as well as a dynamic feature of mainstream contemporary medicine, in which elements of folk traditions are often blended with western scientific approaches.The Anthropology of Alternative Medicine is a concise yet wide-ranging exploration of non-biomedical healing. The book addresses a broad range of practices including: substance, energy and information flows (e.g. helminthic therapy); spirit, consciousness and trance (e.g. shamanism); body, movement and the senses (e.g. reiki and aromatherapy); as well as classical medical traditions as complements or alternatives to Western biomedicine (e.g. Ayurveda). Exploring the cultural underpinnings of contemporary healing methods, while assessing current ideas, topics and resources for further study, this book will be invaluable to undergraduate and graduate students in anthropology, sociology, psychology, and health related professions such as nursing, physical and occupational therapy, and biomedicine.
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
1 Alternative Medicine in the Twenty-First Century -- Conflicting Interests Pertaining to the Rise of Integrative Medicine -- What Distinguishes an Anthropological Approach to Alternative Healing? -- Dominant Themes and Organization of the Book -- Anthropology and the Human Journey -- Healing Power and Agency -- What Are Cultural Constructions and Why Does It Matter to Health Care? -- A Bird's Eye Overview of Core Concepts in Medical Anthropology -- Curing or Healing? -- Biomedicine and Traditional Medicine -- Plural Healing in the Global Age: Intersections of Meaning and Power -- Current Practice: Helminths Return as Promising New Drugs -- 2 Substance, Energy, and Information Flows -- From the Flow of Rumors to Exposing the Global Traffic in Organs and Tissues -- Duality of Water: Vitality and Contamination -- Current Practice: Homeopathy -- Energy, Life-Force, and the Powers of the Sun -- Nourishment and Healing -- The American Health Foods Movement in the Early Twentieth Century -- Rising Trend: Alternative Consumption Movements in the Developed World -- Humoral Medical Traditions, Foods, and Herbs -- Case Study: ELTA Universitate - Natural Foods, Anesthesia, and Social Renewal -- Of Information and the Triadic Approach -- Energy, Dowsing, and Information -- 3 Spirit, Consciousness, and Trance -- Altered States, Bodies, and Souls -- Shamanic Consciousness and Symbolic Healing -- Hypnosis, Spirit(s), and Healing -- Current Practice: Rediscovering Hesychasm and the Prayer of the Heart -- Rising Trend: Healing Addictions with ASCs and Hallucinogens -- Faith Healing and Pilgrimage -- Ayurveda and Mental Illness -- 4 Body, Movement, and the Senses -- The Anthropology of Sensations and the Multidimensionality of Healing Work -- Smell and Taste -- Tactile Experiences -- Rhythm, Movement, and Music as Life -- Case Study: Becoming Radiant - Real Reiki in Postsocialist Romania -- Ascent into the Future: Aromatherapy, Art, and Science, Ancient and Modern -- Current Practice: Medical Aromatherapy -- Polythetic Medicine -- 5 Conclusion: Looking into the Future of Alternative Medicine.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Description based on print version record.
"First published 2012 by Berg Publishers."
Alternative medicine is not a fashionable new trend but an established cultural strategy, as well as a dynamic feature of mainstream contemporary medicine, in which elements of folk traditions are often blended with western scientific approaches.The Anthropology of Alternative Medicine is a concise yet wide-ranging exploration of non-biomedical healing. The book addresses a broad range of practices including: substance, energy and information flows (e.g. helminthic therapy); spirit, consciousness and trance (e.g. shamanism); body, movement and the senses (e.g. reiki and aromatherapy); as well as classical medical traditions as complements or alternatives to Western biomedicine (e.g. Ayurveda). Exploring the cultural underpinnings of contemporary healing methods, while assessing current ideas, topics and resources for further study, this book will be invaluable to undergraduate and graduate students in anthropology, sociology, psychology, and health related professions such as nursing, physical and occupational therapy, and biomedicine.
Medical anthropology.


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