Social and Cultural Perspectives on Health, Technology and Medicine : Old Concepts, New Problems

This book examines some of the most enduring core concepts in the social sciences, including society, culture, kinship, production, exchange and ritual. The authors consider how, and with what consequences, these are mobilized within contemporary fields of health, technology and medicine. They demonstrate that such concepts are complex and contested but when appropriately contextualized can retain considerable relevance for social scientists and health scholars seeking to make sense of medicine, science and technology and the problems that surround them today. The chapters include a range of illustrative case studies, drawn from transplant medicine, genetic counselling, cancer therapy, reproductive health and addiction.

Developments in health, science and technology have long provided fertile analytical ground for social science disciplines. This book focuses on the critical and enduring importance of core concepts in anthropology and sociology for interrogating and keeping pace with developments in the life sciences. The authors consider how transformations in medical and scientific knowledge serve to reanimate older controversies, giving new life to debates about relations between society, culture, knowledge and individuals. They reflect on the particular legacies and ongoing relevance of concepts such as ‘culture’, ‘society’, ‘magic’, ‘production’, ‘kinship’, ‘exchange’ and ‘the body’. The chapters draw on the work of key historical and contemporary figures across the social sciences and include a range of illustrative case studies to explore topics such as transplant medicine, genetic counselling, cancer therapy, reproductive health and addiction. Of particular interest to students and scholars of anthropology, sociology, and science and technology studies, this volume will also be a valuable resource for those working in the fields of health and medicine.