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Margaret Lock
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An Anthropology of Biomedicine Paperback – 9 April 2010

by Margaret Lock (Author), Vinh-Kim Nguyen (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars 21
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An Anthropology of Biomedicine
An Anthropology of Biomedicine
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An Anthropology of Biomedicine is an exciting new introduction to biomedicine and its global implications. Focusing on the ways in which the application of biomedical technologies bring about radical changes to societies at large, cultural anthropologist Margaret Lock and her co-author physician and medical anthropologist Vinh-Kim Nguyen develop and integrate the thesis that the human body in health and illness is the elusive product of nature and culture that refuses to be pinned down.
  • Introduces biomedicine from an anthropological perspective, exploring the entanglement of material bodies with history, environment, culture, and politics
  • Develops and integrates an original theory: that the human body in health and illness is not an ontological given but a moveable, malleable entity
  • Makes extensive use of historical and contemporary ethnographic materials around the globe to illustrate the importance of this methodological approach
  • Integrates key new research data with more classical material, covering the management of epidemics, famines, fertility and birth, by military doctors from colonial times on
  • Uses numerous case studies to illustrate concepts such as the global commodification of human bodies and body parts, modern forms of population, and the extension of biomedical technologies into domestic and intimate domains
  • Winner of the 2010 Prose Award for Archaeology and Anthropology
Previous page
  1. Print length
    518 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    9 April 2010
  4. Dimensions
    17.32 x 3 x 25.04 cm
  5. ISBN-10
    1405110716
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1405110716
  7. See all details
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Product description

Review

?It will be of enormous use to students and researchers concerned with the sociality of biomedicine for years to come, offering both an impressive coverage of subject matter and moments of original argumentation.? (Sociology of Health & Illness, 2011)

"Beyond this, the book should provide a useful reference for social scientists working in areas related to the intersection of culture and biomedicine." (Choice , 1 April 2011)

From the Back Cover

The concept of a universal, standardizable body that can best be technologically manipulated in isolation from its context has become a foundation of biomedicine. An Anthropology of Biomedicine introduces biomedicine from an anthropological perspective, exploring the entanglement of material bodies with history, environment, culture, and politics. Focusing on the ways in which the application of biomedical technologies bring about radical changes to societies at large, medical anthropologist Margaret Lock and physician and medical anthropologist Vinh–Kim Nguyen develop and integrate the theory that the human body in health and illness is not an ontological given but a moveable, malleable entity the elusive product of nature and culture that refuses to be pinned down.

Tracking the historic global application of biomedical technologies –– including the management of epidemics as part of colonial medicine, the control of populations, organ transplants, assisted reproductions, genetic testing and screening, and other technologies –– the authors reveal the intended and unintended local consequences and the exacerbation of global inequalities and health disparities that such technologies bring about. The argument is put forward that in addition to focusing on the massive impact of poverty and social inequality on health and illness, attention must be given to local biologies, culture, and politics; as well as to the culture of biomedicine and the unexamined assumptions embedded in it. An Anthropology of Biomedicine serves as an important new introduction to the global implications of the implementation of biomedicine.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wiley-Blackwell UK; 1st edition (9 April 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 518 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1405110716
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1405110716
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 17.32 x 3 x 25.04 cm
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 21

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Margaret Lock

Margaret Lock

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4.5 out of 5
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Julien Brisson
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book
Reviewed in Canada on 28 January 2014
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Excellent book for anyone not just for anthropologists. Challenges the way we look and understand medicine. Useful concepts are presented in it.
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leah anderson
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Contextualization for Medical Anthropology
Reviewed in the United States on 14 February 2012
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This book excels at contextualizing the field of medical anthropology and its subjects. Many of the works cited by the authors are important, but overlooked or off-the-beaten-track for most readers, making this book an excellent resource for beginning or situating an interest in the anthropology of biomedicine. Importantly, the authors also propose vocabulary that they think is best suited to studies of biomedicine (such as "biosocial differentiation") that will be very useful to anyone researching biomedicine. In short, read this to contextualize other, more focused works on biomedicine, and to learn about the excellent vocabulary that they are trying to standardize in the anthropology of biomedicine.
7 people found this helpful
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Gary M. Estes
5.0 out of 5 stars Good book for general reading
Reviewed in the United States on 20 April 2012
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The book isn't to technical with a lot of medical jargon as medical school books classic and teaching the art of medical science. It's nice to see advances made in our brain and theories adopted. It is careful to point out there are many parts of the brain we don't yet have complete answers for.
One person found this helpful
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Sweet
5.0 out of 5 stars excellent, powerful work
Reviewed in the United States on 5 July 2013
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The book lives up to the potential of Dr Lock and an MD and MPH, studying medical anthropology, I highly recommend this work.
One person found this helpful
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