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

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.

Ciara Kierans is a Senior Lecturer in Anthropology in the Department of Public Health and Policy at the University of Liverpool, UK.

Kirsten Bell is a Research Associate in the Department of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, Canada.

Carol Kingdon is a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Health at the University of Central Lancashire, UK.