Medical Anthropology: Regional Perspectives and Shared Concerns

Book info: Medical Anthropology: Regional Perspectives and Shared Concerns (Hardcover, 345 pages) – Wiley-Blackwell, 2006. Language: English.

Medical Anthropology: Regional Perspectives and Shared Concerns surveys medical anthropology by examining the multiplicity of intellectual traditions from which it emerged, taking a closer look at the paths charted by medical anthropologists in Europe and the Americas.

• An overview of the discipline, written by medical anthropologists of international stature.
• Includes case studies from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
• Also provides thematic perspectives, considering gender and politics in relation to medical anthropology.

From the Back Cover How has medical anthropology developed since the first manuals were published in the United States nearly 30 years ago? Rejecting a linear history in favor of a more kaleidoscopic approach, Medical Anthropology: Regional Perspectives and Shared Concerns explores the answers to this question by examining the multiplicity of intellectual traditions from which it emerged. Taking a closer look at the paths charted by medical anthropologists in Europe and the Americas, this volume offers the reader an overview of the contemporary intellectual landscape of the discipline, as well as insight into its traditions.

This carefully structured volume is written by medical anthropologists of international stature, many of whom have been instrumental in defining the field and charting its course. Part One of this collection looks at medical anthropology in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Brazil; Part Two explores the European traditions of the field; and Part Three provides two case studies that examine medical anthropology thematically rather than regionally. Finally, Margaret Lock’s conclusion to this text considers the history of medical anthropology from a new perspective, pinpointing the elements of convergence beyond its local expressions.

About the Author

Francine Saillant is Professor of Anthropology at the Université Laval and Editor-in-Chief of the journal Anthropologie et Sociétés.She has conducted research on ethnomedicine, alternative medicine, midwifery, and women’s knowledge of the body. She is now conducting research work on humanitarian action and human rights. Her books include Transformations sociales, genre et santé (with Manon Boulianne, 2003), Identités, vulnérabilités, communautés (with Michèle Clément, 2004), Communautés et socialités (with Éric Gagnon, 2005), and De la responsabilité: Éthique et politique (with Éric Gagnon, 2006).

Serge Genest is Professor of Anthropology at the Université Laval. He has conducted research on medical systems in Central and West Africa, in South-East Asia, and in Quebec. He has explored traditional systems of medicine in Africa, the encounter between local medicines and biomedicine, and AIDS. His current work deals with international development and health, as well as the connections between environment and health.