Medical Anthropology

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.

Notes on Contributors viii

Preface xvi

Acknowledgments xvii

Introduction: Francine Saillant and Serge Genest xviii

Part I: Perspectives from the Americas 1

Chapter 1 Canada 3
Section 1

Bioscience and Biotechnology Under Ethnographic Surveillance: Where Do Canadian Medical Anthropologists Stand? 3
Gilles Bibeau (Université de Montréal), Janice E. Graham (Université de Montréal), and Usher Fleising (University of Calgary)

Section 2

The Anthropology of Health in Québec: Toward a Blending of Approaches and Methods 23
Raymond Massé (Université Laval)

Chapter 2 The United States 42

Medical Anthropology in the United States
Aruchu Castro (University of Barcelona) and Paul Farmer (Harvard University)

Chapter 3 Brazil 58

Much More than Medical Anthropology: The Healthy Body and Brazilian Indentity
Annette Leibing (Hamburg University)

Chapter 4 Mexico 71

Medical Anthropology in Mexico: Recent Trends in Research and Education
María Beatriz Duarte-Gómez (National University of Colombia), Roberto Campos-Navarro (Universidad Nacional Autónoma), and Gustavo Nigenda (Escuela Nacional de Anthropologia e Historia)

Part II: Perspectives from Europe 87

Chapter 5 France 89

Medical Anthropology in France: A Healthy Discipline
Sylvie Fainzang (Centre de Recherche Médecine, Sciences, Santé et Société)

Chapter 6 Spain 103

Topographies, Folklore, and Medical Anthropology in Spain
Josep M. Comelles (École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris), Enrique Perdiguero (Miguel Hernández University, Spain), and Angel Martínez-Hernáez (Universitat Rovira I Virgili, Spain)

Chapter 7 Italy 122

Suffering, Politics, Nation: A Cartography of Italian Medical Anthropology
Mariella Pandolfi (Université de Montréal) and Gilles Bibeau (Université de Montréal)

Chapter 8 Germany 142

Medical Anthropology(ies) in Germany
Angelika Wolf (Free University of Berlin), Stefan Ecks (Göttingen, Berkeley, Paris), and Johannes Sommerfeld (University of Hamburg)

Chapter 9 The Netherlands 162

A Cultural Fascination with Medicine: Medical Anthropology in

the Netherlands
Sjaak Van der Geest (University of Amsterdam)

Chapter 10 The United Kingdom 183

British Medical Anthropology: Past, Present and Future
Ronald Frankenberg (University of Manchester)

Chapter 11 Switzerland 212

Anthropology between Medicine and Society: Swiss Health Interfaces
Ilario Rossi (University of Lausanne)

Part III: Cross-cutting and Thematic Perspectives 231

Chapter 12 Gender 233

Engendering Medical Anthropology
Carole H. Browner and Carolyn Sargent (Michigan State University)

Chapter 13 Politics 252

The Politics of Life: Beyond the Anthropology of Health
Didier Fassin (École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales)

Conclusion 267

Medical Anthropology: Intimations for the Future
Margaret Lock (McGill University)

Index 289

"This fascinating and important collection highlights the differences and similarities of recent intellectual traditions within the field of Medical Anthropology as articulated in eleven different countries in the Americas and Europe. It is essential for understanding what the contemporary field is."
Peter J. Brown, Professor of Anthropology and Global Health, Emory University

"The editors have done excellent work in bringing together the different visions of so many renowned experts in the field."
Medische Anthropologie: Tidschrift over Gezondheid Cultuur

“In an excellent conclusion, Lock considers medical anthropology’s new location in society’s bodies, whilst it de-essentializes both body and culture.” Journal of Anthropological Research

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.

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.