Health, illness or addiction: social aspects Books

1157 products


  • Bioethics Reenvisioned  A Path toward Health

    MP-NCA Uni of North Carolina Bioethics Reenvisioned A Path toward Health

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisShows why the field of bioethics must embrace a broader and more meaningful view of justice, principally by incorporating the tools and insights of the social sciences, epidemiology, and public health. The authors make the case for a more social understanding of justice, and a deeper humility in assessing expertise in bioethics consulting.

    1 in stock

    £19.51

  • Radical Prescription

    The University of North Carolina Press Radical Prescription

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisExtinguishing a public health threat is difficult under any condition, let alone during a national revolution. In this first comprehensive study of tuberculosis in Cuba, Kelly Urban analyses the medical, social, and governmental responses to the highly contagious disease as the island was heading into and emerging from the Revolution of 1959.Trade ReviewWell-researched . . . This focus on Cuban public health policy and the interaction between the governments and citizens, and not just on tuberculosis, makes Radical Prescription of interest both to historians of medicine and generalists interested in Latin American history."—H-Sci-Med-Tech

    1 in stock

    £26.06

  • A City without Care

    The University of North Carolina Press A City without Care

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisNew Orleans is a city that is rich in culture, music, and history. It has also long been a site of some of the most intense racially based medical inequities in the United States. Kevin McQueeney traces that inequity from the city's founding in the early eighteenth century through three centuries to the present.

    1 in stock

    £69.70

  • A City without Care

    The University of North Carolina Press A City without Care

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisNew Orleans is a city that is rich in culture, music, and history. It has also long been a site of some of the most intense racially based medical inequities in the United States. Kevin McQueeney traces that inequity from the city's founding in the early eighteenth century through three centuries to the present.

    1 in stock

    £23.70

  • Landscapes of Care

    The University of North Carolina Press Landscapes of Care

    2 in stock

    Book SynopsisAn insightful work on rural health in the United States that examines the ways immigrants, mainly from Latin America and the Caribbean, navigate the health care system in the United States.

    2 in stock

    £69.70

  • Landscapes of Care

    The University of North Carolina Press Landscapes of Care

    2 in stock

    Book SynopsisAn insightful work on rural health in the United States that examines the ways immigrants, mainly from Latin America and the Caribbean, navigate the health care system in the United States.

    2 in stock

    £18.00

  • The Social Medicine Reader Volume I Third Edition

    Duke University Press The Social Medicine Reader Volume I Third Edition

    Book SynopsisThe extensively updated and revised third edition of the bestselling Social Medicine Reader provides a survey of the challenging issues facing today's health care providers, patients, and caregivers with writings by scholars in medicine, the social sciences, and the humanities.Trade Review"A must-read for health care professionals, these readings are provocative and invite critical social and moral analysis among health care professionals. Essential. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty." -- B. A. D'Anna * Choice *Table of ContentsPreface to the Third Edition ix Introduction 1 Part I. Experiences of Illness and Clinician-Patient Relationships Silver Water / Amy Bloom 7 "Is She Experiencing any Pain?": Disability and the Physician-Patient Relationship / S. K. Toombs 15 The Cost of Appearances / Arthur Frank 20 The Ship Pounding / Donald Hall 25 God at the Bedside / Jerome Groopman 27 The Use of Force / William Carlos Williams 32 Sunday Dialogue: Conversations between Doctor and Patient / Rebecca Dresser 36 What the Doctor Said / Raymond Carver 42 Part II. Professionalism and the Culture of Medicine The Learning Curve / Atul Gawande 45 The Perfect Code / Terrence Holt 63 Coeur d'Alene / Richard B. Weinberg 78 The "Worthy" Patient: Rethinking the "Hidden Curriculum" in Medical Education / Robin T. Higashi, Allison Tillack, Michael A. Steinman, C. Bree Johnston, and G. Michael Harper 82 How Doctors Think: Clinical Judgement and the Practice of Medicine / Kathryn Montgomery 95 Healing Skills for Medical Practice / Larry R. Churchill and David Schenck 101 The Hair Stylist, the Corn Merchant, and the Doctor: Ambiguously Altruistic / Lois Shepherd 111 Necessary Accessories / Nusheen Ameenuddin 127 The Critical Vocation of the Essay / Barry F. Saunders 132 The Art of Medicine: Asthma and the Value of Contradictions/ Ian Whitmarsh 140 Script / Mara Buchbinder and Dragana Lassiter 145 Ordinary Medicine: The Power and Confusion of Evidence / Sharon R. Kaufman 149 "Ethics and Clinical Research": The 50th Anniversary of Beecher's Bombshell / David S. Jones, Christine Grady, and Susan E. Lederer 154 Part III. Health Care Ethics and the Clinician's Role Glossary of Basic Ethical Concepts in Health Care and Research / Nancy M. P. King 167 Ethics in Medicine: An Introduction to Moral Tools and Traditions / Larry R. Churchill, Nancy M. P. King, David Schenck, and Rebecca L. Walker 175 Historical and Contemporary Codes of Ethics: The Hippocratic Oath, the Prayer of Maimonides, the Declaration of Geneva, and the AMA Principles of Medical Ethics 191 Enduring and Emerging Challenges of Informed Consent / Christine Grady 197 Teaching the Tyranny of the Form: Informed Consent in Person and on Paper / Katie Watson 212 A Terrifying Truth / Rebecca Dresser 218 The Lie / Lawrence D. Grouse 222 Discharge Decisions and the Dignity of Risk / Debjani Mukherjee 224 No One Needs to Know / Neil S. Calman 229 Part IV. Death, Dying, and Lives at the Margins Forty Years of Work on End-of-Life Care: From Patients' Rights to Systemic Reform / Susan M. Wolf, Nancy Berlinger, and Bruce Jennings 239 Try to Remember Some Details / Yehuda Amichai 249 Failing to Thrive? / Kim Sue 251 The Dead Donor Rule and Organ Transplantation / Robert D. Truog and Franklin G. Miller 259 The Darkening Veil of "Do Everything" / Chris Feudtner and Wynne Morrison 263 Death and Dignity: A Case of Individualized Decision Making / Timothy E. Quill 267 Active and Passive Euthanasia / James A. Rachels 273 Clinician-Patient Interactions about Requests for Physician-Assisted Suicide: A Patient and Family View / Anthony L. Back, Helene Starks, Clarissa Hsu, Judith R. Gordon, Ashok Bharucha, and Robert A. Pearlman 280 My Father's Death / Susan M. Wolf 301 Part V. Allocation and Justice Glossary: Justice and the Allocation of Health Resources / Rebecca L. Walker and Larry R. Churchill 311 Dead Man Walking / Michael Stillman and Monalisa Tailor 316 Full Disclosure: Out-of-Pocket Costs as Side Effects / Peter A. Ubel, Amy P. Abernethy, and S. Yousuf Zafar 320 Seven Sins of Humanitarian Medicine / David R. Welling, James M. Ryan, David G. Burris, and Norman M. Rich 325 Who Should Receive Life Support during a Public Health Emergency? Using Ethical Principles to Improve Allocation Design / Douglas B. White, Mitchell H. Katz, John M. Luce, and Bernard Lo 335 About the Editors 353 Index 355

    £75.65

  • The Social Medicine Reader Volume I Third Edition

    Duke University Press The Social Medicine Reader Volume I Third Edition

    Book SynopsisThe extensively updated and revised third edition of the bestselling Social Medicine Reader provides a survey of the challenging issues facing today's health care providers, patients, and caregivers with writings by scholars in medicine, the social sciences, and the humanities.Trade Review"A must-read for health care professionals, these readings are provocative and invite critical social and moral analysis among health care professionals. Essential. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty." -- B. A. D'Anna * Choice *Table of ContentsPreface to the Third Edition ix Introduction 1 Part I. Experiences of Illness and Clinician-Patient Relationships Silver Water / Amy Bloom 7 "Is She Experiencing any Pain?": Disability and the Physician-Patient Relationship / S. K. Toombs 15 The Cost of Appearances / Arthur Frank 20 The Ship Pounding / Donald Hall 25 God at the Bedside / Jerome Groopman 27 The Use of Force / William Carlos Williams 32 Sunday Dialogue: Conversations between Doctor and Patient / Rebecca Dresser 36 What the Doctor Said / Raymond Carver 42 Part II. Professionalism and the Culture of Medicine The Learning Curve / Atul Gawande 45 The Perfect Code / Terrence Holt 63 Coeur d'Alene / Richard B. Weinberg 78 The "Worthy" Patient: Rethinking the "Hidden Curriculum" in Medical Education / Robin T. Higashi, Allison Tillack, Michael A. Steinman, C. Bree Johnston, and G. Michael Harper 82 How Doctors Think: Clinical Judgement and the Practice of Medicine / Kathryn Montgomery 95 Healing Skills for Medical Practice / Larry R. Churchill and David Schenck 101 The Hair Stylist, the Corn Merchant, and the Doctor: Ambiguously Altruistic / Lois Shepherd 111 Necessary Accessories / Nusheen Ameenuddin 127 The Critical Vocation of the Essay / Barry F. Saunders 132 The Art of Medicine: Asthma and the Value of Contradictions/ Ian Whitmarsh 140 Script / Mara Buchbinder and Dragana Lassiter 145 Ordinary Medicine: The Power and Confusion of Evidence / Sharon R. Kaufman 149 "Ethics and Clinical Research": The 50th Anniversary of Beecher's Bombshell / David S. Jones, Christine Grady, and Susan E. Lederer 154 Part III. Health Care Ethics and the Clinician's Role Glossary of Basic Ethical Concepts in Health Care and Research / Nancy M. P. King 167 Ethics in Medicine: An Introduction to Moral Tools and Traditions / Larry R. Churchill, Nancy M. P. King, David Schenck, and Rebecca L. Walker 175 Historical and Contemporary Codes of Ethics: The Hippocratic Oath, the Prayer of Maimonides, the Declaration of Geneva, and the AMA Principles of Medical Ethics 191 Enduring and Emerging Challenges of Informed Consent / Christine Grady 197 Teaching the Tyranny of the Form: Informed Consent in Person and on Paper / Katie Watson 212 A Terrifying Truth / Rebecca Dresser 218 The Lie / Lawrence D. Grouse 222 Discharge Decisions and the Dignity of Risk / Debjani Mukherjee 224 No One Needs to Know / Neil S. Calman 229 Part IV. Death, Dying, and Lives at the Margins Forty Years of Work on End-of-Life Care: From Patients' Rights to Systemic Reform / Susan M. Wolf, Nancy Berlinger, and Bruce Jennings 239 Try to Remember Some Details / Yehuda Amichai 249 Failing to Thrive? / Kim Sue 251 The Dead Donor Rule and Organ Transplantation / Robert D. Truog and Franklin G. Miller 259 The Darkening Veil of "Do Everything" / Chris Feudtner and Wynne Morrison 263 Death and Dignity: A Case of Individualized Decision Making / Timothy E. Quill 267 Active and Passive Euthanasia / James A. Rachels 273 Clinician-Patient Interactions about Requests for Physician-Assisted Suicide: A Patient and Family View / Anthony L. Back, Helene Starks, Clarissa Hsu, Judith R. Gordon, Ashok Bharucha, and Robert A. Pearlman 280 My Father's Death / Susan M. Wolf 301 Part V. Allocation and Justice Glossary: Justice and the Allocation of Health Resources / Rebecca L. Walker and Larry R. Churchill 311 Dead Man Walking / Michael Stillman and Monalisa Tailor 316 Full Disclosure: Out-of-Pocket Costs as Side Effects / Peter A. Ubel, Amy P. Abernethy, and S. Yousuf Zafar 320 Seven Sins of Humanitarian Medicine / David R. Welling, James M. Ryan, David G. Burris, and Norman M. Rich 325 Who Should Receive Life Support during a Public Health Emergency? Using Ethical Principles to Improve Allocation Design / Douglas B. White, Mitchell H. Katz, John M. Luce, and Bernard Lo 335 About the Editors 353 Index 355

    £21.59

  • The African Roots of Marijuana

    Duke University Press The African Roots of Marijuana

    Book SynopsisIn this authoritative history of cannabis in Africa, Chris S. Duvall challenges what readers thought they knew about cannabis by correcting widespread myths, outlining its relationship to slavery and colonialism, and highlighting Africa's centrality to knowledge about and the consumption of one of the world's most ubiquitous plants.Trade Review"Offers a great example of why geographers, historians, and other professionally trained humanists need to keep writing about cannabis: these are the only people who can explain and contextualize the racist and colonialist assumptions baked into much of the most widely read literature on the plant. . . . The academic literature on cannabis may never be the same after The African Roots of Marijuana." -- Nick Johnson * Points: The Blog of the Alcohol and Drugs History Society *"This book will be a worthwhile addition to any university library and is especially useful for law schools and for programs in criminology, criminal justice, sociology, and history. . . . Highly recommended. All readership levels." -- D. R. Kavish * Choice *"Essential reading for anyone with interests in African ethnobotany or cannabis history, and more broadly, will be of value to those interested in the history of nineteenth-century Africa or of slavery." -- Wendy L. Applequist * Economic Botany *"The book is richly detailed and reflects years of sustained effort. . . . All in all, this is an excellent piece of scholarship. It should interest anyone with a curiosity about the history of cannabis, Africa, or the geography of drugs." -- Barney Warf * Journal of Historical Geography *"Rumors that become published facts in high-end publications and prestigious medical journals are the mainstay of histories of marijuana. Chris S. Duvall, in a magnificently researched and clearly written book, sets right this historiography. . . . Duvall does a brilliant job in consulting available archaeological evidence, carefully studying the spread of words, and, most of all, drawing on sometimes little-studied European observers, especially Portuguese expeditions into the Central African interior. His judicious combination of all of these sources, combined with critical judgement, is convincing and a pleasure to read." -- David M. Gordon * International Journal of African Historical Studies *"The African Roots of Marijuana is a path-breaking work of scholarship. . . . This work represents a singular scholarly achievement, both in the history of cannabis globally and in its history on the African continent." -- Charles Ambler * Bulletin of the History of Medicine *“As African history remains on the fringe of some studies, Chris Duvall’s The African Roots of Marijuana provides a solid foundation for the agency of African people and the central function that the continent plays in the expansion of global transactions.” -- Paul Hoelscher * World History Connected *Table of ContentsPart I. Introduction: Pay Attention to African Cannabis 1. Cannabis and Africa 3 2. Race and Plant Evolution 33 Part II. Evidence: How Cannabis Came to Africa, What Happened to it There, and How It Crossed the Atlantic 3. Roots of African Cannabis Cultures 53 4. Cannabis Colonizes the Continent 72 5. A Convenient Crop 95 6. Society Overturned: The Bena Riamba 112 7. Cannabis Crosses the Atlantic 125 Part III. Discussion and Conclusions: What Carried Cannabis? 8. Working under the Influence 159 9. Buying and Banning 184 10. Rethinking Marijuana 216 Acknowledgments 231 Notes 233 Index 341

    £75.65

  • Divided Bodies

    Duke University Press Divided Bodies

    Book SynopsisAbigail A. Dumes offers an ethnographic exploration of the Lyme disease controversy to shed light on the relationship between contested illness and evidence-based medicine in the United States.Trade Review“This exceptional book takes readers into the heart of an important medical controversy about the very nature of Lyme disease. Sensitively portraying the struggles of Lyme sufferers, as well as the divided opinions of the clinicians who care for them, this book demonstrates how evidence-based medicine may not reflect the social complexities of a deeply contested illness. A must-read for scholars of American health and medicine and for anyone interested in the growing Lyme disease epidemic.” -- Marcia C. Inhorn, Professor of Anthropology and International Affairs, Yale University“The controversy over the existence and meaning of chronic Lyme disease is one of the most fascinating stories in contemporary medicine. In Divided Bodies, Abigail A. Dumes explores with penetration and subtlety this epistemic border on which patients and physicians wage an intense battle to impose their truth.” -- Didier Fassin, Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study and Chair of Public Health at the Collège de France"This book is valuable for its illustration of how some medical paradigms become mainstream, while others disappear. Chronic Lyme, whatever it is, holds up a mirror to evidence-based medicine. Dumes's ethnographic approach provides voluminous details, new insights, and a refreshing alternative to much of the existing literature on the Lyme controversy. Highly recommended. All readers." -- M. Gochfeld * Choice *“Divided Bodies will be of interest to medical anthropologists and sociologists, and health professionals curious about how illnesses come to be contested.... It is an impressive example of how ethnography can shed light on the relationship between illness, disease and evidence-based medicine.” -- Caragh Brosnan * Sociology of Health & Illness *“Divided Bodies is a thorough, anthropo­logical study of the controversies present in Lyme disease and inherent in EBM.... Interest­ed physicians are encouraged to check it out.” -- William Murdoch * Family Medicine *“Being the first of its kind, Abigail A. Dumes’ ethnographic study of Lyme disease in the United States introduces its readers to a world largely unknown.... Thanks to her continuous, careful attention, readers get a thorough idea of what is at stake.” -- Josephine Rudbech * Ethnos *"I come away from this book with a clearer understanding of how evidence-based medicine makes multiple kinds of truth claims accessible, and how the idea of evidence becomes an agent in all approaches to chronic Lyme/post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome. This degree of balance, reflected down to Dumes’s word choice, is masterful. . . . Pre-COVID, most abled people’s lives were cordoned off from those who suffer chronically. Dumes’s text offers insight into what it might mean to distinguish, in our research and writing practices as much as in the subjects of our research, what we mean by evidence, what we mean by knowledge, and how we hold multiple competing worldviews in the same frame, as we pay attention to the suffering of others." -- Charis Boke * Medical Anthropology Quarterly *“Throughout [Divided Bodies], Dumes achieves a balancing act as an ethnographer of an onto-epistemological debate, wherein questions about what Lyme is frequently crowd out the social-scientific questions of what Lyme means and how it is actedupon.” -- Emma Broder * H-Sci-Med-Tech, H-Net Reviews *“Divided Bodies is an excellent example of the scholarship possible for those who take seriously the prospect of contested truths in contemporary medicine. It is well worth a read for those interested in the hegemony of evidence-based medicine and the persistence of the medically unexplained, as well as others invested in the specificities of Lyme disease as it is experienced and treated.” -- Paula Martin * Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry *"Abigail Dumes effectively presents a transdisciplinary approach for articulating the rhizomatic representations of illness that yields the phenomenon of Lyme Disease. It was a joy to read." -- Frans Jackop Lourens Robberts * Sociology of Health & Illness *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction: Lyme Disease Outside In 1 1. Mapping the Lyme Disease Controversy 27 2. Preventing Lyme 65 3. Living Lyme 99 4. Diagnosing and Treating Lyme 158 5. Lyme Disease, Evidence-Based Medicine, and the Biopolitics of Truthmaking 187 Conclusion: Through Lyme's Looking Glass 222 Notes 235 Glossary 271 References 273 Index 327

    £112.20

  • The Politics of the Opioid Epidemic

    Duke University Press The Politics of the Opioid Epidemic

    Book Synopsis

    £12.34

  • We Are Having This Conversation Now

    Duke University Press We Are Having This Conversation Now

    Book SynopsisAlexandra Juhasz and Theodore Kerrtwo scholars deeply embedded in the HIV responsepresent the history, present, and future of AIDS through thirteen short conversations.Trade Review“[Juhasz’s and Kerr’s] conversational model—by definition friendly, curious, and inviting, with an interest in accessibility and transparency—distinguishes [We Are Having This Conversation Now] from traditional academic writing and media criticism. Here, history-teaching and -learning is rooted in an oral history framework: that we learn what happened to communities from the people who constitute them.” -- Svetlana Kitto * Bomb *“We Are Having This Conversation Now carves a terrain of multimedia and citations. . . . [Juhasz and Kerr’s] push to talk about AIDS across temporalities is an effort to drag conversations around AIDS and AIDS cultural production into a public present and keep them there." -- Mackenzie Lukenbill * The Baffler *"We Are Having This Conversation Now is suffused with an awareness that the dominant narratives of AIDS in the United States have traditionally centered the lives of gay white men." -- Alex Valenti * The Body *Table of ContentsAbbreviations vii Acknowledgments ix The Time of AIDS. Timeline 1 xiii Introduction. We Are Starting This Conversation, Again 1 Section One. Trigger Trigger 1. What We See 19 Trigger 2. Seeing Tape in Time 30 Trigger 3. Being Triggered Together 49 Trigger 4. Being Triggered in Times 59 Trigger 5. Being Triggered by Absence 73 Trigger 6. How to Have an AIDS Memorial in an Epidemic 83 An AIDS Conversation Script to be Read Aloud. Timeline 2 95 Section Two. Silence 7. Silence + Object 101 8. Silence + Art 121 9. Silence + Video 139 10. Silence + Undetectability 159 11. Silence + Conversation 169 12. Silence + Interaction 183 13. Silence + Transformation 197 Conclusion. We Are Beginning This Conversation, Again 217 Sources and Influences. Timeline 3 227 Notes 251 Index 257

    £74.70

  • We Are Having This Conversation Now

    Duke University Press We Are Having This Conversation Now

    Book SynopsisAlexandra Juhasz and Theodore Kerrtwo scholars deeply embedded in the HIV responsepresent the history, present, and future of AIDS through thirteen short conversations.Trade Review“[Juhasz’s and Kerr’s] conversational model—by definition friendly, curious, and inviting, with an interest in accessibility and transparency—distinguishes [We Are Having This Conversation Now] from traditional academic writing and media criticism. Here, history-teaching and -learning is rooted in an oral history framework: that we learn what happened to communities from the people who constitute them.” -- Svetlana Kitto * Bomb *“We Are Having This Conversation Now carves a terrain of multimedia and citations. . . . [Juhasz and Kerr’s] push to talk about AIDS across temporalities is an effort to drag conversations around AIDS and AIDS cultural production into a public present and keep them there." -- Mackenzie Lukenbill * The Baffler *"We Are Having This Conversation Now is suffused with an awareness that the dominant narratives of AIDS in the United States have traditionally centered the lives of gay white men." -- Alex Valenti * The Body *Table of ContentsAbbreviations vii Acknowledgments ix The Time of AIDS. Timeline 1 xiii Introduction. We Are Starting This Conversation, Again 1 Section One. Trigger Trigger 1. What We See 19 Trigger 2. Seeing Tape in Time 30 Trigger 3. Being Triggered Together 49 Trigger 4. Being Triggered in Times 59 Trigger 5. Being Triggered by Absence 73 Trigger 6. How to Have an AIDS Memorial in an Epidemic 83 An AIDS Conversation Script to be Read Aloud. Timeline 2 95 Section Two. Silence 7. Silence + Object 101 8. Silence + Art 121 9. Silence + Video 139 10. Silence + Undetectability 159 11. Silence + Conversation 169 12. Silence + Interaction 183 13. Silence + Transformation 197 Conclusion. We Are Beginning This Conversation, Again 217 Sources and Influences. Timeline 3 227 Notes 251 Index 257

    £18.89

  • Our Veterans

    Duke University Press Our Veterans

    Book SynopsisIn Our Veterans, Suzanne Gordon, Steve Early, and Jasper Craven explore the physical, emotional, social, economic, and psychological impact of military service and the problems that veterans face when they return to civilian life.Trade Review"This chilling account explores the physical, economic and psychological consequences of military service on veteran health and takes a critical look at the many players involved in shaping veteran life in the United States." * New York Times *"This little book is jam-packed with information that is not only fascinating, it promises to be incredibly helpful to any vet who will take the time to read it. . . Every veteran involved with the VA will find that Our Veterans is a reference book they can access as an unprecedented toolbox full of information that will come in handy in every confrontation with the Department of Veterans Affairs." -- John Ketwig * The Veteran *"The civilian community is largely unaware of the harm to all caused by the specialized problems facing our current veterans, and the growing drive to privatize the VA. Nor is it aware of the rising movement against this trend. Anyone having concerns about these issues will find Our Veterans to be an essential source of information. It provides a thorough, well-written analysis of the situation, and the direction we need to take in response." -- Ronald Citkowski * Against the Current *"The strength of this book is its honesty about the whole field of military service and its effects on those who survive it; as well as, those who don’t. The authors demonstrate through this, and previous activities, their concerns for the well-being of those who have served. Their writing is straight-forward, clear, and honest." -- Kim Scipes * Stansbury Forum *"As Suzanne Gordon, Steve Early and Jasper Craven make clear in their new book, Our Veterans, thinking about veterans as a monolithic group with the same experiences, same outlook and same needs is wrong. The extensively researched and sourced Our Veterans sets out to explain why." -- Janis Hashe * East Bay Express *"The authors of Our Veterans have taken a deep dive into a large and little understood corner of the social safety net. Their detailed depiction of how the forces of neoliberalization interact with the unique history, culture, and politics of this sector is an important contribution to our understanding of how working people are affected by these forces in all aspects of their lives." -- Mark Dudzic * New Labor Forum *"The authors bring extensive research, a strong progressive analysis, and powerful advocacy to this expansive review of veterans’ issues. . . . Our Veterans illustrates the dangerous impact of the U.S.’s massive military on many service members. It also shines a light on the many ways in which corporate greed and privatization are encroaching on our public resources, including the resources to robustly support our veterans when they come home." * New Politics *"An important addition to the literature about American veterans in the forever-war era. ... I recommend it to anyone who wants to understand the complicated and interconnected world of veteran policies, politics, and processes, then work to make them better." -- Jim Craig * Journal of Military History *Table of ContentsList of Abbreviations ix Preface xiii Authors' Note and Acknowledgments xvii Introduction: Friendly Fire 1 1. A Toxic Workplace 27 2. Life and Work after the Military 57 3. Stolen Valor 85 4. Last Stand of the Legion Post? 108 5. The New VSOs 134 6. A VA Healthcare Struggle 155 7. Playing the Veteran Card 176 8. Veterans and the 2020 Election 199 Conclusion: Rethinking Veterans Affairs 222 Notes 253 Selected Bibliography 311 Index 317

    £18.99

  • Losing Sleep

    New York University Press Losing Sleep

    4 in stock

    Book SynopsisNew insights into the anxiety over infant sleep safetyNew parents are inundated with warnings about the fatal risks of co-sleeping, or sharing a bed with a newborn, from medical brochures and website forums, to billboard advertisements and the evening news. In Losing Sleep, Laura Harrison uncovers the origins of the infant sleep safety debate, providing a window into the unprecedented anxieties of modern parenthood. Exploring widespread rhetoric from doctors, public health experts, and the media, Harrison explains why our panic has reached an all-time high. She traces the way safe sleep standards in the United States have changed, and shows how parents, rather than broader systems of inequality that impact issues of housing and precarity, are increasingly being held responsible for infant health outcomes. Harrison shows that infant mortality rates differ widely by race and are linked to socioeconomic status. Yet, while racial disparities in infant mortality point to systemic and structTrade ReviewLosing Sleep is a superb contribution to the literature on infant risk, maternal responsibility, and reproductive justice. Framing infant safe sleep as a social construct, Harrison analyzes the ways safe sleep campaigns reproduce inequalities and fail to account for structural causes of infant death. The book is insightful, engaging, and timely. * Monica J. Casper, author of Babylost: Racism, Survival, and the Quiet Politics of Infant Mortality, from A to Z *Losing Sleep has an impressive scope and dynamic analysis....Harrison artfully draws on scholarship across sociology, feminist theory, feminist science studies, and reproductive justice to showcase how medical, political, legal, and public policy approaches work together to reward some parents (primarily mothers) and punish others....Harrison invites readers to reflect on taken-for-granted parenting advice about infant sleep to demonstrate the social and political dimensions of it, an absorbing read. * Laury Oaks, author of Giving Up Baby: Safe Haven Laws, Motherhood, and Reproductive Justice *

    4 in stock

    £66.60

  • Losing Sleep

    New York University Press Losing Sleep

    Book SynopsisNew insights into the anxiety over infant sleep safetyNew parents are inundated with warnings about the fatal risks of co-sleeping, or sharing a bed with a newborn, from medical brochures and website forums, to billboard advertisements and the evening news. In Losing Sleep, Laura Harrison uncovers the origins of the infant sleep safety debate, providing a window into the unprecedented anxieties of modern parenthood. Exploring widespread rhetoric from doctors, public health experts, and the media, Harrison explains why our panic has reached an all-time high. She traces the way safe sleep standards in the United States have changed, and shows how parents, rather than broader systems of inequality that impact issues of housing and precarity, are increasingly being held responsible for infant health outcomes. Harrison shows that infant mortality rates differ widely by race and are linked to socioeconomic status. Yet, while racial disparities in infant mortality point to systemic and structTrade Review"Losing Sleep is a superb contribution to the literature on infant risk, maternal responsibility, and reproductive justice. Framing infant safe sleep as a social construct, Harrison analyzes the ways safe sleep campaigns reproduce inequalities and fail to account for structural causes of infant death. The book is insightful, engaging, and timely." * Monica J. Casper, author of Babylost: Racism, Survival, and the Quiet Politics of Infant Mortality, from A to Z *"Losing Sleep has an impressive scope and dynamic analysis....Harrison artfully draws on scholarship across sociology, feminist theory, feminist science studies, and reproductive justice to showcase how medical, political, legal, and public policy approaches work together to reward some parents (primarily mothers) and punish others....Harrison invites readers to reflect on taken-for-granted parenting advice about infant sleep to demonstrate the social and political dimensions of it, an absorbing read." * Laury Oaks, author of Giving Up Baby: Safe Haven Laws, Motherhood, and Reproductive Justice *

    £23.74

  • Keywords for Health Humanities

    New York University Press Keywords for Health Humanities

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisTrade ReviewKeywords for the Health Humanities transcends its title. This rich volume contains essays that not only map the essential concepts in the health humanities, but also expand the possibilities of the field going forward. With an impressive roster of contributors whose essays address such wide-ranging topics as disability, disaster, human rights and indigeneity, as well as neurodiversity, stress, and trauma, this is a Health Humanities reader for our current era. Highly recommended not only for courses but also for any reader hoping to broaden their vision of what constitutes health. -- Susan Squier, The Pennsylvania State UniversityMany, many aperçus here that diverge, converge, challenge, illumine, and occasionally surprise yet almost always take the reader in the plural directions that make up this exciting field. An excellent place to start to figure out what the humanities bring and do to health and medicine. Entertaining but, better still, serious and useful! * Arthur Kleinman, author of The Soul of Care *

    1 in stock

    £62.90

  • Contesting Intersex

    New York University Press Contesting Intersex

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisWinner, 2017 Sex and Gender Distinguished Book Award, presented by the American Sociological AssociationWinner, 2016 Donald Light Award for the Applied or Public Practice of Medical Sociology, presented by the American Sociological AssociationA personal, compelling perspective on how medical diagnoses can profoundly hurt, or help, the lived experiences of entire communitiesWhen sociologist Georgiann Davis was a teenager, her doctors discovered that she possessed XY chromosomes, marking her as intersex. Rather than share this information with her, they withheld the diagnosis in order to protect the development of her gender identity; it was years before Davis would see her own medical records as an adult and learn the truth. Davis' experience is not unusual. Many intersex people feel isolated from one another and violated by medical practices that support conventional notions of the male/female sex binary which have historically led to secrecy anTrade ReviewDavis presents a compelling and beautifully-crafted text about the complex issues of gender and sexual identity. How medicine and diagnosis can either come in aid of, or brutally disrupt the experience of intersexuality is an important paradox, worthy of reflection and debate. With this book, Davis gets the ball rolling and demands our attention. It is well-worth the read. -- Annemarie Jutel,author of Putting a Name to It: Diagnosis in Contemporary SocietyThrough piercing interviews and astute analysis, and in a readable style, Contesting Intersex gets at the heart of recent controversies about the medical management of intersex and perceptively tracks the political engagement of intersex activists. -- Elizabeth Reis,author of Bodies in Doubt: An American History of IntersexWith refreshingly honest prose and an insider's insight, Georgiann Davis illuminates the ongoing, heated, and often painful debate about how best to respond to the naturally occurring diversity of sex development in human beings. This is groundbreaking work that is sure to become required reading for scholars of gender and the social history of medicine. -- Sharon Preves,author of Intersex and Identity: The Contested SelfThe histories of medicine, social movements, and gender productivity collide in sociologist Daviss compelling account of how activists, parents, assorted medical specialists and institutions, and people with intersex traits respond to the diversity of human reproductive development...[T]his book will inspire and inform the wide readership it deserves. * Choice *Davis provides her readers with a concise overview of her research as well as lists calls to action. Daviss strengths lie in the seamless blending of research, ethnography, interviews, and personal activism. * American Book Review *Contesting Intersexis an essential update to studies of the intersex and a must-read for those interested in social movements, gender, medicalization, diagnosis, and the relationship between science and culture. * American Journal of Sociology *Contesting Intersex is an unapologetic coalescence of Davis first-hand experiences of an intersex diagnosis and her academic inquiry into the topic. Whilst this, as she acknowledges, & may make the book read like an autoethnography at certain points, theory, politics and practice have never been discrete in intersex studies. Daviss own history and current participation in the intersex community help her to provide a circumspect consideration of the tensions at play. * Sociology of Health & Illness *Table of Contentsvii Contents Acknowledgments ix 1. Introduction: "You're in the Monkey Cage with Me" 1 2. The Transformation of Intersex Advocacy 26 3. Medical Jurisdiction and the Intersex Body 55 4. The Power in a Name 87 5. A Different Kind of Information 116 6. Conclusion: The Dubious Diagnosis 145 Appendix A: Table of Research Participants 171 Appendix B: Conference Agenda 173 Notes 179 References 191 Index 209 About the Author 221

    1 in stock

    £62.90

  • The Third Net

    MI - New York University The Third Net

    4 in stock

    Book SynopsisReveals the presence of an informal system of valuable support and care for marginalized migrantsThe United States' health care system not only consists of a formal safety net, but also an informal and disjointed network of organizations that offer basic care to millions of migrants. This Third Net provides free or low-cost health care for the undocumented, low-income, and uninsured migrants who are excluded from the formal system. This groundbreaking study sheds light on the existence of the Third Net and its implications for the overall inequalities in the US health care system. The Third Net is made up of diverse providers with varying levels of service, organizational culture, and mission. These providers operate in unconventional settings, such as mobile clinics on wheels; pop-up clinics in repurposed spaces; and unlicensed, makeshift clinics run by health activists. Despite their unassuming appearances, these clinics are vital resources for marginalized populations that often g

    4 in stock

    £21.59

  • Just Health

    MI - New York University Just Health

    10 in stock

    Book SynopsisChoice Outstanding Academic Title 2023The author of the bestselling Just Medicine reveals how racial inequality undermines public health and how we can change itWith the rise of the Movement for Black Lives and the feverish calls for Medicare for All, the public spotlight on racial inequality and access to healthcare has never been brighter. The rise of COVID-19 and its disproportionate effects on people of color has especially made clear how the color of one's skin is directly related to the quality of care (or lack thereof) a person receives, and the disastrous health outcomes Americans suffer as a result of racism and an unjust healthcare system. Timely and accessible, Just Health examines how deep structural racism embedded in the fabric of American society leads to worse health outcomes and lower life expectancy for people of color. By presenting evidence of discrimination in housing, education, employment, and the criminal justice system, Dayna Bowen Matthew shows how racial in

    10 in stock

    £12.34

  • Save My Kid

    New York University Press Save My Kid

    10 in stock

    Book SynopsisA frank analysis of the medical and emotional inequalities that pervade the healthcare process for critically ill children Families who have a child with a life-threatening illness face a daunting road ahead of them, one that not only upends their everyday lives, but also strikes at the very heart of parenthood. In Save My Kid, Amanda M. Gengler traces the emotional difficulties these families navigate as they confront a fundamentally unequal healthcare system in the United States. Gengler reveals the unrecognized, everyday inequalities tangled up in the process of seeking medical care, showing how different families manage their children's critical illnesses. She also uncovers the role that emotional goalsdeeply rooted in the culture of illness and medicineplay in medical decision-making, healthcare interactions, and the end of children's lives. A deeply compassionate read, Save My Kid is an inside look at inequality in healthcare among those with the most at stake.Trade ReviewGengler's measured yet empathetic tone sets an example for all sociologists writing on emotionally charged topics. As intense as her account oftentimes is, it never devolves into empty sensationalism. The result is an eloquent and memorable illustration of how social inequalities play out in hospitals—a solid contribution to medical sociology, the sociology of emotions, and scholarship on culture and inequality. * American Journal of Sociology *Amanda Gengler movingly captures the high-stakes world of families coping with severe childhood illness and their struggle to maintain hope as they navigate the contemporary health landscape where inequality abound. A vivid demonstration of health as an arena that intensifies inequalities between families. -- Amy Best, author of Fast Food Kids: Lunch Lines, French Fries and Social TiesWith deep empathy and drawing from personal experience, this mesmerizing ethnography explores the opportunities and pitfalls of hope when parents face the challenge of their child’s life threatening disease. Rather than pinning all our hopes on hope, Gengler calls for a broader and more flexible emotional spectrum in times of life-or-death health crises. -- Stefan Timmermans, co-author of Saving Babies: The Consequences of Newborn Genetic ScreeningAmanda Gengler is a gifted ethnographer whose compassion and insight illuminate parents’ harrowing efforts to maintain hope while seeking life-saving treatments for their children. In showing how emotions intersect with cultural health capital, this indispensable book exposes the complex ways social inequality affects our ability to hope and cope in times of crisis. -- Jennifer Lois, author of Home is Where the School is: The Logic of Homeschooling and the Emotional Labor of Mothering

    10 in stock

    £62.90

  • Save My Kid

    New York University Press Save My Kid

    Book SynopsisA frank analysis of the medical and emotional inequalities that pervade the healthcare process for critically ill children Families who have a child with a life-threatening illness face a daunting road ahead of them, one that not only upends their everyday lives, but also strikes at the very heart of parenthood. In Save My Kid, Amanda M. Gengler traces the emotional difficulties these families navigate as they confront a fundamentally unequal healthcare system in the United States. Gengler reveals the unrecognized, everyday inequalities tangled up in the process of seeking medical care, showing how different families manage their children's critical illnesses. She also uncovers the role that emotional goalsdeeply rooted in the culture of illness and medicineplay in medical decision-making, healthcare interactions, and the end of children's lives. A deeply compassionate read, Save My Kid is an inside look at inequality in healthcare among those with the most at stake.Trade Review"Gengler's measured yet empathetic tone sets an example for all sociologists writing on emotionally charged topics. As intense as her account oftentimes is, it never devolves into empty sensationalism. The result is an eloquent and memorable illustration of how social inequalities play out in hospitals—a solid contribution to medical sociology, the sociology of emotions, and scholarship on culture and inequality." * American Journal of Sociology *"Amanda Gengler movingly captures the high-stakes world of families coping with severe childhood illness and their struggle to maintain hope as they navigate the contemporary health landscape where inequality abound. A vivid demonstration of health as an arena that intensifies inequalities between families." -- Amy Best, author of Fast Food Kids: Lunch Lines, French Fries and Social Ties"With deep empathy and drawing from personal experience, this mesmerizing ethnography explores the opportunities and pitfalls of hope when parents face the challenge of their child’s life threatening disease. Rather than pinning all our hopes on hope, Gengler calls for a broader and more flexible emotional spectrum in times of life-or-death health crises." -- Stefan Timmermans, co-author of Saving Babies: The Consequences of Newborn Genetic Screening"Amanda Gengler is a gifted ethnographer whose compassion and insight illuminate parents’ harrowing efforts to maintain hope while seeking life-saving treatments for their children. In showing how emotions intersect with cultural health capital, this indispensable book exposes the complex ways social inequality affects our ability to hope and cope in times of crisis." -- Jennifer Lois, author of Home is Where the School is: The Logic of Homeschooling and the Emotional Labor of Mothering

    £23.74

  • Contesting Intersex

    New York University Press Contesting Intersex

    Book SynopsisWinner, 2017 Sex and Gender Distinguished Book Award, presented by the American Sociological AssociationWinner, 2016 Donald Light Award for the Applied or Public Practice of Medical Sociology, presented by the American Sociological AssociationA personal, compelling perspective on how medical diagnoses can profoundly hurt, or help, the lived experiences of entire communitiesWhen sociologist Georgiann Davis was a teenager, her doctors discovered that she possessed XY chromosomes, marking her as intersex. Rather than share this information with her, they withheld the diagnosis in order to protect the development of her gender identity; it was years before Davis would see her own medical records as an adult and learn the truth. Davis' experience is not unusual. Many intersex people feel isolated from one another and violated by medical practices that support conventional notions of the male/female sex binary which have historically led to secrecy anTrade ReviewDavis presents a compelling and beautifully-crafted text about the complex issues of gender and sexual identity. How medicine and diagnosis can either come in aid of, or brutally disrupt the experience of intersexuality is an important paradox, worthy of reflection and debate. With this book, Davis gets the ball rolling and demands our attention. It is well-worth the read. -- Annemarie Jutel,author of Putting a Name to It: Diagnosis in Contemporary SocietyThrough piercing interviews and astute analysis, and in a readable style, Contesting Intersex gets at the heart of recent controversies about the medical management of intersex and perceptively tracks the political engagement of intersex activists. -- Elizabeth Reis,author of Bodies in Doubt: An American History of IntersexWith refreshingly honest prose and an insider's insight, Georgiann Davis illuminates the ongoing, heated, and often painful debate about how best to respond to the naturally occurring diversity of sex development in human beings. This is groundbreaking work that is sure to become required reading for scholars of gender and the social history of medicine. -- Sharon Preves,author of Intersex and Identity: The Contested SelfThe histories of medicine, social movements, and gender productivity collide in sociologist Daviss compelling account of how activists, parents, assorted medical specialists and institutions, and people with intersex traits respond to the diversity of human reproductive development...[T]his book will inspire and inform the wide readership it deserves. * Choice *Davis provides her readers with a concise overview of her research as well as lists calls to action. Daviss strengths lie in the seamless blending of research, ethnography, interviews, and personal activism. * American Book Review *Contesting Intersexis an essential update to studies of the intersex and a must-read for those interested in social movements, gender, medicalization, diagnosis, and the relationship between science and culture. * American Journal of Sociology *Contesting Intersex is an unapologetic coalescence of Davis first-hand experiences of an intersex diagnosis and her academic inquiry into the topic. Whilst this, as she acknowledges, & may make the book read like an autoethnography at certain points, theory, politics and practice have never been discrete in intersex studies. Daviss own history and current participation in the intersex community help her to provide a circumspect consideration of the tensions at play. * Sociology of Health & Illness *Table of Contentsvii Contents Acknowledgments ix 1. Introduction: "You're in the Monkey Cage with Me" 1 2. The Transformation of Intersex Advocacy 26 3. Medical Jurisdiction and the Intersex Body 55 4. The Power in a Name 87 5. A Different Kind of Information 116 6. Conclusion: The Dubious Diagnosis 145 Appendix A: Table of Research Participants 171 Appendix B: Conference Agenda 173 Notes 179 References 191 Index 209 About the Author 221

    £22.79

  • Diagnosis

    University of Toronto Press Diagnosis

    Book SynopsisThe announcement of a serious diagnosis is a solemn moment when directions shift, priorities change, and life appears in sharper focus. It is also a moment when a story takes shape. It is a story we are able to imagine, even if we haven’t experienced it firsthand, because the moment of diagnosis is as pervasive in popular media as it is in medicine. Diagnosis: Truths and Tales shares stories told from the perspectives of those who receive diagnoses and those who deliver them. Confronting how we address illness in our personal lives and in popular culture, this compelling book explores narratives of diagnosis while pondering the impact they have on how we experience health and disease.Trade Review"Diagnosis: Truth and Tales provokes thought rather than simple assent. It offers a set of ideas that enable its readers’ various responses rather than prescribing an inevitable conclusion." -- Jeffrey Brown, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia * Medical Humanities *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Foreword: Giving the Story Back – by Lisa Sanders Acknowledgments Introduction Touch of the Flu: The Paradoxes and Contradictions of Diagnoses Whose Stories? Narrative Exchange and Self-Diagnosis "The Expertness of His Healer": Diagnosis, Disclosure, and the Power of a Profession "The News Is Not Altogether Comforting": Fiction and the Diagnostic Moment Breaking Bad: The Diagnostic Moment in Film and Television – with Thierry Jutel A Picture Paints a Thousand Words: The Graphic Diagnosis – with Ian Williams The Intellectual Documentary: Methods for Understanding the Diagnostic Moment What’s There to Tell? Diagnosis-as-Mystery Notes References Index

    £22.49

  • Prescription for the People

    Cornell University Press Prescription for the People

    2 in stock

    Book SynopsisIn Prescription for the People, Fran Quigley diagnoses our inability to get medicines to the people who need them and then prescribes the cure. He delivers a clear and convincing argument for a complete shift in the global and U.S. approach to developing and providing essential medicinesand a primer on how to make that change happen. Globally, 10 million people die each year because they are unable to pay for medicines that would save them. The cost of prescription drugs is bankrupting families and putting a strain on state and federal budgets. Patients' desperate need for affordable medicines clashes with the core business model of the powerful pharmaceutical industry, which maximizes profits whenever possible. It doesn't have to be this way. Patients and activists are aiming to make all essential medicines affordable by reclaiming medicines as a public good and a human right, instead of a profit-making commodity. In this book, Quigley demystifies statistics and termiTrade ReviewExplores the reasons behind high prescription drug costs and the consequences of those costs for individuals, drug companies, and governments.... Easy-to-read short chapters. Many references from top journals and government documents. * Choice *An accessible, empowering plea to act on a vital issue. * Library Journal *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Part I 1. People Everywhere Are Struggling to Get the Medicines They Need 2. The United States Has a Drug Problem 3. Millions of People Are Dying Needlessly 4. Cancer Patients Face Particularly Deadly Barriers to Medicines 5. The Current Medicine System Neglects Many Major Diseases Part II 6. Corporate Research and Development Investments Are Exaggerated 7. The Current System Wastes Billions on Drug Marketing 8. The Current System Compromises Physician Integrity and Leads to Unethical Corporate Behavior 9. Medicines Are Priced at Whatever the Market Will Bear 10. Pharmaceutical Corporations Reap History-Making Pro ts Part III 11. The For-Profit Medicine Arguments Are Patently False 12. Medicine Patents Are Extended Too Far and Too Wide 13. Patent Protectionism Stunts the Development of New Medicines 14. Governments, Not Private Corporations, Drive Medicine Innovation 15. Taxpayers and Patients Pay Twice for Patented Medicines Part IV 16. Medicines Are a Public Good 17. Medicine Patents Are Arti cial, Recent, and Government-Created 18. The United States and Big Pharma Play the Bully in Extending Patents 19. Pharma-Pushed Trade Agreements Steal the Power of Democratically Elected Governments Part V 20. Current Law Provides Opportunities for Affordable Generic Medicines 21. There Is a Better Way to Develop Medicines 22. Human Rights Law Demands Access to Essential Medicines Conclusion Notes Index

    2 in stock

    £17.09

  • Smoking under the Tsars

    Cornell University Press Smoking under the Tsars

    3 in stock

    Book SynopsisApproaching tobacco from the perspective of users, producers, and objectors, Smoking under the Tsars provides an unparalleled view of Russia's early adoption of smoking. Tricia Starks introduces us to the addictive, nicotine-soaked Russian version of the cigarettethe papirosaand the sensory, medical, social, cultural, and gendered consequences of this unique style of tobacco use.Starting with the papirosa's introduction in the nineteenth century and its foundation as a cultural and imperial construct, Starks situates the cigarette's emergence as a mass-use product of revolutionary potential. She discusses the papirosa as a moral and medical problem, tracks the ways in which it was marketed as a liberating object, and concludes that it has become a point of increasing conflict for users, reformers, and purveyors.The heavily illustrated Smoking under the Tsars taps into bountiful material in newspapers, industry publications, etiquette Trade ReviewWhat a curious, ambitious book! When I think of titles that will get readers hooked on Russia, this is what I envision. Smoking Under the Tsars is sprawling, drawing cultural anthropology, history, pubpol, and medicine (plus a little journalism) under the wing of RAS. * Russia Reviewed *Tricia Starks' book is well-written and lavishly illustrated and is an important contribution to the understanding of the manufacture, production, and role that tobacco had in late imperial and in the Revolutionary Russia. Particularly noteworthy is the level of detail that the author has provided on all these topics. This book is highly recommended for anyone interested in any aspect of smoking or the tobacco industry in Russia during the periods discussed. * International Journal of Russian Studies *The history of tobacco smoking and addiction described in Tricia Starks's lively new book Smoking Under the Tsars underscores how deeply ingrained the habit is in Russian history and culture and the difficulty the contemporary Russian state faces in trying to persuade more people to quit.... Fascinating. * American Journal of Public Health *Starks succeeds in cohesively examining an unconventional topic that will interest a wide audience interested in histories of consumer culture, the senses, women, medicine, and the public sphere before 1917. * Choice *[Smoking under the Tsars] offers readers a thick anthropological account of complex socialities created and maintained with a cigarette puff. * Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences *Should be on all graduate students' reading lists and, given their accessible and jargon-free writing styles, could easily be integrated in the undergraduate curriculum. * Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History *Starks is successful in inviting the reader to reconsider tobacco consumption as a form of national project during the late imperial period. Of interest to scholars of public health, gender, and marketing as well as historians, it is well worthy of a wide readership and an important addition to our understanding of the late imperial period. * The Russian Review *Starks carefully reviews advertisements, archival documents, maps, and individual narratives to generate an elegant and thorough account of the social life of smoking in prerevolutionary Russia. * Journal of the History of Medicine *Starks has put together a masterful monograph that weaves together the political, economic, social, and cultural history of smoking in Russia—no small feat. The prose is as vivid and engaging as the stunning, full-color, tsarist-era artwork. * MUSE *Nicely organized and beautifully illustrated with color reproductions of tobacco and cigarette ads, Smoking covers tobacco use in Russia before 1917 through cultivation of the plant, preparation and use of cigarettes, advertising and consumption, and early arguments pro and con lighting up. * Journal of Modern History *Smoking under the Tsars is an impressive, multifaceted study of one of the most ubiquitous and controversial commodities in history, the cigarette, in a society famous for heavy smoking. Drawing on medical tracts, Russian literature, economic records, advertising posters and a host of other sources, this richly illustrated volume has something for everyone and connects to a remarkable range of topics through one of the most disposable commodities imaginable. Starks does a fantastic job of balancing the culturally constructed meaning of her subject with its concrete physical realities. * Canadian-American Slavic Studies *Cigarettes and Soviets makes important contributions to recent work on the global history of tobacco use, along with adding to our understanding of socialist consumption and everyday life. Most delightfully, Starks's book demonstrates a keen understanding of Soviet visual culture in all its unex- pected and paradoxical dimensions, and her beautiful prose evokes the sights and smells of ordinary places in the USSR.,,Table of ContentsList of Tables and Maps Acknowledgments Introduction: Papirosy and Dependence 1. Cultivated: Exotic Blends and Imperial Designs 2. Produced: Tobacco Queens and Working Girls 3. Tasted: Distinctive Smoking and Social Inclusion 4. Condemned: Social Danger and Neurasthenic Decline 5. Contested: Medical Dispute and Public Disbelief Epilogue: Revolution and Cessation Notes Bibliography Index

    3 in stock

    £37.05

  • Decadent Genealogies

    Cornell University Press Decadent Genealogies

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisBarbara Spackman here examines the ways in which decadent writers adopted the language of physiological illness and alteration as a figure for psychic otherness. By means of an ideological and rhetorical analysis of scientific as well as literary texts, she shows how the rhetoric of sickness provided the male decadent writer with an alibi for the occupation and appropriation of the female body.Trade ReviewDecadent Genealogies is an important book because it will promote further research into the intricate ties between D’Annunzio and the Futurists. -- Angela Dalle Vacche * SubStance *

    1 in stock

    £15.99

  • Civilization and Disease

    Cornell University Press Civilization and Disease

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisOriginally published in 1943, Civilization and Disease was based on a series of lectures that the medical historian Henry E. Sigerist delivered at Cornell University in 1940. Now back in print, the book is a wide-ranging account of the importance of social factors on health and illness and the impact that disease has had on societies throughout human history. Despite considerable advances in both medicine and historiography, Civilization and Disease remains a landmark work in the history of medicine and a fascinating look at, first, civilization as a factor in the genesis and spread of disease, and second, the effects of disease on such aspects of civilization as economics, social life, law, philosophy, religion, science, and the arts. In a new foreword written for this edition, Elizabeth Fee outlines Sigerist's life, works, and legacy as a historian, a teacher, and an advocate for universal health care, hailing Civilization and Disease as an excellent introduction to Sigerist's worTrade ReviewA thoroughly readable book in one of the most fascinating fields in human history.... Sigerist treats his rich material with admirable organization and selection, and writes clearly, urbanely, and unpretentiously. * Chicago Sun *Sigerist makes clear, most interestingly and impressively, the great importance of social factors in health and in disease. The social activity which we call civilization is illuminatingly discussed through the adverse effects which its malfunctioning has upon the health of the individual. * New York Times *It is a far cry from the Black Death to women’s corsets, but Sigerist gets both into the compass of his book. It is a fascinating story, told with rare skill. * Montreal Daily Star *Sigerist examines with deep comprehension and admirable erudition which conditions have been and are favorable and which detrimental to the health of the individuals and the community. In each chapter, we find a fascinating survey of historical facts and a clear summary of the conclusion. * American Historical Review *Civilization and Disease compellingly relates developments in medicine to economics, social life, the law and religion, and also to philosophy, literature and even music. * Times Higher Education *

    1 in stock

    £19.94

  • Politics under the Influence

    Cornell University Press Politics under the Influence

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisYou know just how serious a problem alcoholism has become for our country. Frankly speaking, it has taken on the proportions of a national disaster. So spoke Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in 2009 as the government launched its latest anti-alcohol campaign. Challenging the standard narrative of top-down implementation of policy, Anna Bailey's Politics under the Influence breaks new ground in the analysis of Russian alcoholism and the politics of the Putin regime.The state is supposed to make policy in the national interest, to preserve the nation's health against the ravages inflicted by widespread alcohol abuse. In fact, Bailey shows, the Russian state is deeply divided, and policy is commonly a result of the competitive interactions of stakeholders with vested interests. Politics under the Influence turns a spotlight on the powerful vodka industry whose ties to Putin's political elite have grown in influence since 2009. She details how that lobby has used tTrade ReviewThis is a well-constructed, detailed study of recent governmental action regarding alcohol in Russia with relevance for political scientists, public health researchers, historians, and policymakers. Bailey does an excellent job, using a vast array of sources woven together in convincing narratives, of bringing illumination to the "black box" of public policy construction under Putin. * The Russian Review *In this detailed analysis of the Russian state's ambivalent attitude toward vodka, Anna Bailey argues that excessive alcohol consumption has plagued Russian society for centuries. * Survival: Global Politics and Strategy *This is a well-researched, useful and practical analysis of a problem which has beset Russia for centuries: how to control the Russian love of alcohol—given its highly negative effect on public order and the country's demographic situation—without significantly endangering the income that it produces in the form of (paid) taxes that contribute to the country's economic and social development? * Europe-Asia Studies *Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Contradictions of Alcohol Policy 1. Feeding the State: Vodka from Tsarism to Communism 2. Soviet Policy Doublethink 3. The Parasites Feed: State Capture under Yeltsin 4. Regaining State Control under Putin 5. The Judo Gang: Informal Networks and Perceptions of Power 6. An All-Powerful Regulator 7. Beer: The New Pretender on the Russian Alcohol Market 8. The Brewer's Nemesis in the Duma 9. "Vodka Is Our Enemy, but Who Said We're Afraid of Enemies?" 10. From Illegality to Demography: Alcohol Policy Paradigms 11. The New Antialcohol Network 12. Medveded and the Antialcohol Initiative 13. Alcohol Policy as Battleground: The 2011 Alcohol Law 14. The Campaign is Over, but the Battle Continues Conclusion: What Alcohol Tells Us about Russian Politics Appendix 1: Methodology and Research Methods Appendix 2: List of Respondents and Statements in the Public Domain Appendix 3: List of Interview Questions Notes Bibliography

    1 in stock

    £23.74

  • Wounds of War

    Cornell University Press Wounds of War

    3 in stock

    Book SynopsisU.S. military conflicts abroad have left nine million Americans dependent on the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) for medical care. Their wounds of war are treated by the largest hospital system in the countryone that has come under fire from critics in the White House, on Capitol Hill, and in the nation''s media.In Wounds of War, Suzanne Gordon draws on five years of observational research to describe how the VHA does a better job than private sector institutions offering primary and geriatric care, mental health and home care services, and support for patients nearing the end of life. In the unusual culture of solidarity between patients and providers that the VHA has fostered, Gordon finds a working model for higher-quality health care and a much-needed alternative to the practice of for-profit medicine.Trade ReviewImportant and timely. * BeyondChron *A terrific book, and I would recommend that every veteran depending upon the VA for his or her healthcare buy it. * The Veteran *Important and timely. * CounterPunch *This book offers a unique approach to an important topic and is an essential addition for institutions with programs in medicine and other health-affiliated fields (health administration, social work, etc.), public policy and administration, political science, or for any public library serving veteran and/or military populations. * Choice *For better or worse, the course of VA health care now depends on a citizenry and health policy community that possesses little firsthand experience with its services or achievements. Wounds of War is a tremendous starting point for those interested in understanding the importance of getting these decisions right. * Washington Monthly *A compelling account of the many strengths of the Veterans Healthcare System.... Gordon documents these strengths with informative statistics as well as compelling narratives of innovative programs, commendable teamwork and exemplary clinical providers.... A valued view of a system which, even with its flaws, still has remarkable strengths to offer soldiers when their service to our nation is completed. * The Pharos *Wounds of War is a valuable resource for veterans' rights advocates as well as everyone concerned with the struggle for Medicare for all. * Against the Current *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments List of Abbreviations Introduction: What Kind of Care for Veterans? 1. Promises Broken and Kept: A Short History of the VHA 2. Those Who Have Borne the Battle: The VHA's Patient Population Profile—What It Means to Be a VA Volunteer 3. Primary Care the Way It Should Be 4. Healing Minds and Bodies: Integrated Mental Health Care and Primary Care 5. Dealing with a World of Hurt: VHA Treatment of Chronic Pain 6. When Wounded Warriors Are Women: Caring for Female Veterans 7. Mental Health the Way It Should Be 8. Unpacking PTSD: From Diagnosis to Effective Treatment Profi le—Karen Parko: A Special Kind of Professional Development at the VA 9. Returning to Civilian Life: Veterans on Campus 10. Suicide Prevention: VHA Programs That Save Lives 11. Overcoming Disability: VA Rehabilitation Services Profile—Mark Smith: No Ordinary Bike Shop 12. Transcending Trauma: The Martinez Cognitive Rehabilitation Program 13. Off the Streets: Reducing Veteran Homelessness 14. Alternatives to Jail: Veterans' Justice Programs Profile—Cops and Vets: The Memphis Crisis Intervention Model 15. Specializing in Elder Care: The VA and Geriatrics 16. Knocking on Heaven's Door: The VA and End-of-Life Care 17. Better Care Where? The VHA Compared to the Private Sector Conclusion: A System Worth Saving—and Making Even Better Epilogue: Thank You for Your Service? Notes Index About the Author

    3 in stock

    £22.79

  • AntiVax

    Cornell University Press AntiVax

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisAntivaxxers are crazy. That is the perception we all gain from the media, the internet, celebrities, and beyond, writes Bernice Hausman in Anti/Vax, but we need to open our eyes and ears so that we can all have a better conversation about vaccine skepticism and its implications.Hausman argues that the heated debate about vaccinations and whether to get them or not is most often fueled by accusations and vilifications rather than careful attention to the real concerns of many Americans. She wants to set the record straight about vaccine skepticism and show how the issues and ideas that motivate itlike suspicion of pharmaceutical companies or the belief that some illness is necessary to good healthare commonplace in our society.Through Anti/Vax, Hausman wants to engage public health officials, the media, and each of us in a public dialogue about the relation of individual bodily autonomy to the state''s responsibility to safeguard citizens'' health. We needTrade ReviewSolid scholarship, clear writing, and a deep bibliography help this book stand out from others on this subject. Hausman's work is spot on and deserves a wide readership. * Choice *Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgments Introduction: Vaccination Stories and Why I Wrote This Book 1. So What Bothers You about Vaccines? 2. Immune to Reason 3. Whom Do You Trust? 4. Being a Responsible Parent 5. Is Vaccine Refusal a Form of Science Denial? 6. What Are Facts, and How Do We Trust Them? 7. Medicalization and Biomedicalization 8. Antimedicine in Theory and Practice 9. Viral Imaginations 10. Anti/Vax Conclusion: What Vaccination Controversy Can Teach Us about Medicine and Modernity Notes Bibliography Index

    1 in stock

    £22.79

  • Narkomania

    Cornell University Press Narkomania

    2 in stock

    Book SynopsisAgainst the backdrop of a post-Soviet state set aflame by geopolitical conflict and violent revolution, Narkomania considers whether substance use disorders are everywhere the same and whether our responses to drug use presuppose what kind of people those who use drugs really are. Jennifer J. Carroll''s ethnography is a story about public health and international efforts to quell the spread of HIV. Carroll focuses on Ukraine where the prevalence of HIV among people who use drugs is higher than in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and unpacks the arguments and myths surrounding medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in Ukraine. What she presents in Narkomania forces us to question drug policy, its uses, and its effects on normal citizens.Carroll uses her findings to explore what people who use drugs can teach us about the contemporary societies emerging in post-Soviet space. With examples of how MAT has been politicized, how drug use has been tied to ideas of good citizenTrade ReviewViolence and war are inevitably entangled with public health crises. Jennifer Carroll's book vividly shows how those crises are made even worse when unfounded assumptions lead to the condemnation of certain groups * Current History *Carroll efficiently explores how the term addiction allows for all kinds of contradictory and composite meanings. * The Lancet *Jennifer Carroll has done a magistral job in helping the rest of us understand the global and local processes that have produced the current predicament of Ukrainian injecting drug users. The single most cautionary aspect of this book lies in its warning against the use of dismissive presence in society. * Medical Anthropology Quarterly *Narkomania is an important contribution to the field of medical anthropology, but the author's unique perspective and extensive fieldwork make it relevant across Ukrainian studies. Carroll creates a tapestry in which drug use and addiction are seamlessly interwoven with political changes that are resonant far beyond Ukraine's borders. * Harvard Ukrainian Studies *This book is a novel, poignant, and sincere contribution to anthropology and to Ukrainian studies. It will make a thought-provoking read for anyone researching or interested in contemporary Ukraine and its vulnerable population, including students, policymakers, and government employees. * Anthropologica *

    2 in stock

    £97.20

  • Narkomania

    Cornell University Press Narkomania

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisAgainst the backdrop of a post-Soviet state set aflame by geopolitical conflict and violent revolution, Narkomania considers whether substance use disorders are everywhere the same and whether our responses to drug use presuppose what kind of people those who use drugs really are. Jennifer J. Carroll''s ethnography is a story about public health and international efforts to quell the spread of HIV. Carroll focuses on Ukraine where the prevalence of HIV among people who use drugs is higher than in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and unpacks the arguments and myths surrounding medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in Ukraine. What she presents in Narkomania forces us to question drug policy, its uses, and its effects on normal citizens.Carroll uses her findings to explore what people who use drugs can teach us about the contemporary societies emerging in post-Soviet space. With examples of how MAT has been politicized, how drug use has been tied to ideas of good citizenTrade ReviewViolence and war are inevitably entangled with public health crises. Jennifer Carroll's book vividly shows how those crises are made even worse when unfounded assumptions lead to the condemnation of certain groups * Current History *Carroll efficiently explores how the term addiction allows for all kinds of contradictory and composite meanings. * The Lancet *Jennifer Carroll has done a magistral job in helping the rest of us understand the global and local processes that have produced the current predicament of Ukrainian injecting drug users. The single most cautionary aspect of this book lies in its warning against the use of dismissive presence in society. * Medical Anthropology Quarterly *Narkomania is an important contribution to the field of medical anthropology, but the author's unique perspective and extensive fieldwork make it relevant across Ukrainian studies. Carroll creates a tapestry in which drug use and addiction are seamlessly interwoven with political changes that are resonant far beyond Ukraine's borders. * Harvard Ukrainian Studies *This book is a novel, poignant, and sincere contribution to anthropology and to Ukrainian studies. It will make a thought-provoking read for anyone researching or interested in contemporary Ukraine and its vulnerable population, including students, policymakers, and government employees. * Anthropologica *

    1 in stock

    £20.79

  • Marked Women: The Cultural Politics of Cervical

    Stanford University Press Marked Women: The Cultural Politics of Cervical

    Book SynopsisCervical cancer is the third leading cause of death among women in Venezuela, with poor and working-class women bearing the brunt of it. Doctors and public health officials regard promiscuity and poor hygiene—coded indicators for low class, low culture, and bad morals—as risk factors for the disease. Drawing on in-depth fieldwork conducted in two oncology hospitals in Caracas, Marked Women is an ethnography of women's experiences with cervical cancer, the doctors and nurses who treat them, and the public health officials and administrators who set up intervention programs to combat the disease. Rebecca G. Martínez contextualizes patient-doctor interactions within a historical arc of Venezuelan nationalism, modernity, neoliberalism, and Chavismo to understand the scientific, social, and political discourses surrounding the disease. The women, marked as deviant for their sexual transgressions, are not only characterized as engaging in unhygienic, uncultured, and promiscuous behaviors, but also become embodiments of these very behaviors. Ultimately, Marked Women explores how epidemiological risk is a socially, culturally, and historically embedded process—and how this enables cervical cancer to stigmatize women as socially marginal, burdens on society, and threats to the "health" of the modern nation.Trade Review"Marked Women provides insights that only an extended ethnographic engagement can offer. Rebecca Martínez captures the consistent and yet changing political landscape of poverty, class, and race that frames Venezuelan women's lives and health. A must read for anyone interested in Latin America, medical anthropology, neoliberalism, and the social determinants of health."—Leo R. Chavez, author of The Latino Threat: Constructing Immigrants, Citizens, and the Nation"Marked Women is richly detailed and lucidly written. Rebecca Martínez masterfully develops her arguments with honesty and great compassion, situating her analyses at the intersections of disease, sexuality, morality, and citizenship. Her insights into the disparate power dynamics responsible for the persistent stigmatizing of cervical cancer in Venezuela provide new, much-needed perspectives on this tragic global health phenomenon."—Carole H. Browner, University of California, Los Angeles"Rebecca Martínez's remarkable ethnographic eye and ear discern how pathologies of public health infrastructures and professional socialization inscribe gender and class stereotypes not only on bodies but on popular perceptions of poor women and the cervical cancers that too often kill them."—Clara Mantini-Briggs, co-author of Stories in the Time of Cholera: Racial Profiling during a Medical Nightmare"In this excellent work of feminist medical anthropology, Martínez (women's and gender studies, Univ. of Missouri) focuses on the ways neoliberalism has affected health care in Venezuela....The transcriptions of the patients' responses are informative, disturbing, and often upsetting, but their articulation of their feelings draws readers into their narratives. They are not just ethnographic material but real women with real lives. The book is appropriate for upper-division undergraduate and graduate courses in gender studies, anthropology, and Latin American studies."—H. Aquino, CHOICE"Martínez presents an ethnography of cervical cancer that powerfully analyses biomedical and public health practice first in the neoliberal context of the 1990s and then in the socialism of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro...This reader very much hopes that Martínez continues her work, particularly at this historical moment of intense political and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela."––Tita Chico, The Year's Work in Critical and Cultural TheoryTable of ContentsIntroduction: Caracas, Venezuela: On Arrival 1. Hospitals, Patients, and Doctors 2. The Ambiguities of Risk: Morality, Hygiene, and the "Other" 3. Targeting Women: Bodies out of "Control," Public Health, and the Body Politic 4. The Hospital Encounter: Bodies Marked, Mended, and Manipulated 5. Women's Agency and Resilience: "They Way I Want to Be Treated" Epilogue: From Neoliberalism to Chávez

    £86.40

  • Marked Women: The Cultural Politics of Cervical

    Stanford University Press Marked Women: The Cultural Politics of Cervical

    Book SynopsisCervical cancer is the third leading cause of death among women in Venezuela, with poor and working-class women bearing the brunt of it. Doctors and public health officials regard promiscuity and poor hygiene—coded indicators for low class, low culture, and bad morals—as risk factors for the disease. Drawing on in-depth fieldwork conducted in two oncology hospitals in Caracas, Marked Women is an ethnography of women's experiences with cervical cancer, the doctors and nurses who treat them, and the public health officials and administrators who set up intervention programs to combat the disease. Rebecca G. Martínez contextualizes patient-doctor interactions within a historical arc of Venezuelan nationalism, modernity, neoliberalism, and Chavismo to understand the scientific, social, and political discourses surrounding the disease. The women, marked as deviant for their sexual transgressions, are not only characterized as engaging in unhygienic, uncultured, and promiscuous behaviors, but also become embodiments of these very behaviors. Ultimately, Marked Women explores how epidemiological risk is a socially, culturally, and historically embedded process—and how this enables cervical cancer to stigmatize women as socially marginal, burdens on society, and threats to the "health" of the modern nation.Trade Review"Marked Women provides insights that only an extended ethnographic engagement can offer. Rebecca Martínez captures the consistent and yet changing political landscape of poverty, class, and race that frames Venezuelan women's lives and health. A must read for anyone interested in Latin America, medical anthropology, neoliberalism, and the social determinants of health."—Leo R. Chavez, author of The Latino Threat: Constructing Immigrants, Citizens, and the Nation"Marked Women is richly detailed and lucidly written. Rebecca Martínez masterfully develops her arguments with honesty and great compassion, situating her analyses at the intersections of disease, sexuality, morality, and citizenship. Her insights into the disparate power dynamics responsible for the persistent stigmatizing of cervical cancer in Venezuela provide new, much-needed perspectives on this tragic global health phenomenon."—Carole H. Browner, University of California, Los Angeles"Rebecca Martínez's remarkable ethnographic eye and ear discern how pathologies of public health infrastructures and professional socialization inscribe gender and class stereotypes not only on bodies but on popular perceptions of poor women and the cervical cancers that too often kill them."—Clara Mantini-Briggs, co-author of Stories in the Time of Cholera: Racial Profiling during a Medical Nightmare"In this excellent work of feminist medical anthropology, Martínez (women's and gender studies, Univ. of Missouri) focuses on the ways neoliberalism has affected health care in Venezuela....The transcriptions of the patients' responses are informative, disturbing, and often upsetting, but their articulation of their feelings draws readers into their narratives. They are not just ethnographic material but real women with real lives. The book is appropriate for upper-division undergraduate and graduate courses in gender studies, anthropology, and Latin American studies."—H. Aquino, CHOICE"Martínez presents an ethnography of cervical cancer that powerfully analyses biomedical and public health practice first in the neoliberal context of the 1990s and then in the socialism of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro...This reader very much hopes that Martínez continues her work, particularly at this historical moment of intense political and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela."––Tita Chico, The Year's Work in Critical and Cultural TheoryTable of ContentsIntroduction: Caracas, Venezuela: On Arrival 1. Hospitals, Patients, and Doctors 2. The Ambiguities of Risk: Morality, Hygiene, and the "Other" 3. Targeting Women: Bodies out of "Control," Public Health, and the Body Politic 4. The Hospital Encounter: Bodies Marked, Mended, and Manipulated 5. Women's Agency and Resilience: "They Way I Want to Be Treated" Epilogue: From Neoliberalism to Chávez

    £23.39

  • Conflicted Care: Doctors Navigating Patient

    Stanford University Press Conflicted Care: Doctors Navigating Patient

    Book SynopsisAn eye-opening and compelling ethnography about how doctors make decisions The oath that doctors take to "do no harm" suggests that patient welfare is at the center of what it means to be a successful medical professional. It is also understood, however, that hospitals are not only vessels for medical care—they are businesses, educational institutions, and complex bureaucracies with intricate codes of etiquette that dictate how each staff member should approach situations with patients. In Conflicted Care, Hyeyoung Oh Nelson provides an in-depth look at the decision-making processes of physicians at a large, prestigious academic medical center—that she calls Pacific Medical Center—and finds that more often than not patient wellbeing is only one of several factors governing day-to-day decisions. The steps physicians take reveal a kind of hidden curriculum of the medical world, one that is guided by status and hierarchy, bureaucracy, norms for consulting with third-parties, regulations for interactions with patients, and medical uncertainty. While at an institutional and individual level patient care continues to be integral to everything the physicians do, they are forced to reconcile that vow with these other, often-conflicting internal logics. Harm, Nelson argues, is thus built into the practice of medicine in the United States. This harm can take the form of unnecessary treatments and consultations or inadequate treatment for pain to motivate specialist intervention that would otherwise be resisted. These and other practices have the overall consequence of significantly driving up inpatient care costs, which then results in patients forgoing needed, ongoing treatment once they receive their medical bills. Drawing on a deep ethnography of physicians in the Internal Medicine Service unit, Nelson offers a sharp assessment of current policies aimed at alleviating medical costs and explains why they are ineffective. She concludes by offering novel policy and practice recommendations for health care practitioners, policy makers, and healthcare institutions. Trade Review"This impressive book makes important contributions to our understanding of the different types of pressures that add to the complexity of medical care in the United States today. The close, on-the-ground description of these concerns is a valuable addition to the sociology of medicine and health."—Michael Sauder, author of Engines of Anxiety"[Conflicted Care] presents a valuable framework for a careful evaluation of factors influencing medical decision-making that can be replicated in various settings and time periods. Recommended."—R. A. Brugna, CHOICETable of Contents1. Doctors' Dilemmas 2. Conflicting Logics 3. Notation 4. Consultations 5. Discharge 6. Costs

    £60.80

  • Special Treatment: Student Doctors at the All

    Stanford University Press Special Treatment: Student Doctors at the All

    Book SynopsisThe All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is iconic in the landscape of Indian healthcare. Established in the early years of independence, this enormous public teaching hospital rapidly gained fame for the high-quality treatment it offered at a nominal cost; at present, an average of ten thousand patients pass through the outpatient department each day. With its notorious medical program acceptance rate of less than 0.01%, AIIMS also sits at the apex of Indian medical education. To be trained as a doctor here is to be considered the best. In what way does this enduring reputation of excellence shape the institution's ethos? How does elite medical education sustain India's social hierarchies and the health inequalities entrenched within? In the first-ever ethnography of AIIMS, Anna Ruddock considers prestige as a byproduct of norms attached to ambition, aspiration, caste, and class in modern India, and illustrates how the institution's reputation affects its students' present experiences and future career choices. Ruddock untangles the threads of intellectual exceptionalism, social and power stratification, and health inequality that are woven into the health care taught and provided at AIIMS, asking what is lost when medicine is used not as a social equalizer but as a means to cultivate and maintain prestige.Trade Review"Who is medical education really for? What do medical schools actually teach? This quietly devastating study of India's 'best' medical school, and the 'best' students who attend it, reveals how good intentions and entrenched ideas about value and merit combine to produce fragmented, expensive, ill-distributed and disrespectfully delivered medical care. Special Treatment illuminates troubling patterns that extend well beyond contemporary India." -- Claire Wendland * University of Wisconsin-Madison *"Special Treatment is a valuable, much-needed addition to the sparse body of ethnographic work on elite institutions of professional education. Anna Ruddock has crafted a sensitive and sympathetic—yet nuanced and critical—account of how the best-regarded doctors in the country are trained at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. This book overcomes the daunting difficulties of studying a powerful 'institution of excellence' and illuminates its functioning without descending into hagiography." -- Satish Deshpande * Delhi University *"Ruddock's description of the overcrowded out-patient departments at AIIMS; and the common (though not exclusive) attitude of the faculty and students that patients are 'interesting cases', with little understanding of the social context of disease and healing, will be familiar to medical students from any government college in the country... A single institution cannot be expected to change the medical culture in the entire country, as Ruddock says, yet it is sad that AIIMS has not used its privileged position to show the way." -- George Thomas * The India Forum *Table of ContentsContents and Abstracts1AIIMS is AIIMS chapter abstractIn this introductory chapter I give an overview of the place of AIIMS in the landscape of Indian healthcare and its status as the country's most prestigious medical college. I outline my argument that by virtue of its elite status and narrow definition of excellence in medicine, undergraduate education at AIIMS works to reproduce rather than interrogate social inequalities, forgoing opportunities to acquaint students with the potential of medicine to be a transformative social endeavor. 2The Beginning: Establishing AIIMS chapter abstractI tell the story of the creation of AIIMS, drawing on historical sources and interviews with some of the institute's first students and faculty. I show how the institute was a product of and a response to the politics of medical education in colonial India and I discuss the tensions inherent in its mandate to embody global standards of biomedical prowess while also addressing the needs of the predominantly poor and rural population of a newly independent nation. 3Getting In: Being the Best chapter abstractI introduce the students who appear throughout the book and trace how they went from being schoolchildren considering a medical career to trainee doctors profiled in the media for winning a seat at India's most coveted medical college. In doing so, I pay particular attention to the social phenomenon that is the AIIMS MBBS entrance exam and the way that it illuminates and entrenches inequalities while also working to fuel narratives that firmly associate concepts of achievement and merit with upper casteness via the general category. Looking particularly at the function of exam ranking, I present the concept of'biographical numbers as a means of exploring the subjective impact of rank on students' sense of self and their potential futures. 4Being In: "Freedom" chapter abstractChapter 4 takes us through the gates of AIIMS and into the lives of its students. Reflecting on the discourse of freedom that I often heard from students, I interpret the MBBS as a liminal period in the lives of students, which offers transformative possibilities that nevertheless contain their own limits. This thread becomes a discussion of affirmative action at AIIMS, and the ways in which a discourse of caste and meritorious achievement influences how students think about themselves and each other as citizens and future doctors. The politics of affirmative action counter any idealized vision of AIIMS as an institution transcending oppressive social structures in the pursuit of a universal humanist medical science. The institute, and medicine itself, is not set-apart from but is emblematic of the social unease characteristic of modern India. 5Ways and Means of Learning: Impressions from the Clinic chapter abstractI discuss patient labor, a phenomenon whereby students appreciate the number and diversity of AIIMS patients as an educational asset, at an institution that conditions those students to become (super)specialized clinicians unlikely to provide the frontline care that many patients come to the hospital for lack of. I also draw on ethnographic material from wards and outpatient clinics to show how a hidden curriculum naturalizes structural inequalities that play out in the clinical encounter, imparting impressions to students of what it means to be a good doctor and a responsible patient. Integrating other ways of learning about medicine, such as through the humanities, would, I argue, create space for reflection on the social role of the doctor and open up possibilities for addressing rather than reproducing inequalities. 6Graduation: The Consequences of Excellence chapter abstractThis final chapter is concerned with AIIMS students' perceptions of possible futures, which are shot through with discursive threads about achievement and reputation, family, the state, money, and technology. These threads combine to produce a hierarchy of biomedical practice. Not all medical students go on to pursue medical professions. However, whether a student aspires to a career as a super specialist, a public health practitioner, a civil servant, or an entrepreneur, I argue that the choice is inextricable from the status bestowed upon AIIMS students at the moment of admission. The social life of this achievement, combined with the influence of norms around class, caste, gender and kinship produces expectations of the future and an individual's place within it, offering different but related impressions of what it means to be a graduate of India's most prestigious medical college. 7Appendix: On Methodology chapter abstractThis appendix explains how I was given research access to AIIMS and the methodology of the study. I discuss the ableist narratives that are traditionally attached to anthropological fieldwork and encourage more attention to the experiences of disabled anthropologists in order to make it a more inclusive social science.

    £86.40

  • At Risk: Indian Sexual Politics and the Global

    Stanford University Press At Risk: Indian Sexual Politics and the Global

    Book SynopsisIn the mid-1990s, experts predicted that India would face the world's biggest AIDS epidemic by 2000. Though a crisis at this scale never fully materialized, global public health institutions, donors, and the Indian state initiated a massive effort to prevent it. HIV prevention programs channeled billions of dollars toward those groups designated as at-risk—sex workers and men who have sex with men. At Risk captures this unique moment in which these criminalized and marginalized groups reinvented their "at-risk" categorization and became central players in the crisis response. The AIDS crisis created a contradictory, conditional, and temporary opening for sex-worker and LGBTIQ activists to renegotiate citizenship and to make demands on the state. Working across India and Kenya, Gowri Vijayakumar provides a fine-grained account of the political struggles at the heart of the Indian AIDS response. These range from everyday articulations of sexual identity in activist organizations in Bangalore to new approaches to HIV prevention in Nairobi, where prevention strategies first introduced in India are adapted and circulate, as in the global AIDS field more broadly. Vijayakumar illuminates how the politics of gender, sexuality, and nationalism shape global crisis response. In so doing, she considers the precarious potential for social change in and after a crisis.Trade Review"At Risk is feminist transnational sociology at its best! Meticulously researched and beautifully written, this book tells a richly textured, and often surprising, story about how Indian sex workers and LGBTQ people impacted the terrains of sexual politics amidst the AIDS crisis. Vijayakumar deftly illuminates what the global South has to teach us about sexual epidemics, activism, and the transformation of sexual cultures."—Jyoti Puri, Simmons University"At Risk offers the near-historical, ethnographic critique of sexuality politics and the HIV/AIDS crisis in India that we need. Vijayakumar shows in rich detail how 'ideas of sexuality are the "fulcrum" for constructing difference around race, caste, gender, and class,' in part by seriously examining the transnational linkages between Indian and African sex workers' rights movements during the 1990s and 2000s. This book is a critique of a moment that is critical for understanding a uniquely global health crisis, and what it revealed about the idea of 'India' in a uniquely changing world."—Svati P. Shah, University of Massachusetts, Amherst"[At Risk] provides an excellent overview of not only the AIDS epidemic in India but also its intersections with sexual politics at home as well as its linkages to the global AIDS field. The work will prove to be useful for anthropologists, sociologists, historians, and any scholar interested in the sexual politics of AIDS in India."—Arnav Bhattacharya, H-Sci-Med-Tech"Reading [At Risk] at a time when global discourses of COVID-19 continue to dominate public health and media narratives has provided an important frame for critically thinking about global inequalities and their long- and short-term impacts on the lives of people. The book will make for interesting reading for gender and sexuality scholars and scholars interested in critically understanding the everyday state as well as contemporary India and its global dynamics."—Shannon Philip, Contributions to Indian Sociology"At Risk expands the possibilities of decolonizing American sociological scholarship... to build theory from global sites that have implications beyond their immediate coordinates. Particularly now, as we emerge from the reluctant aftermath of another global pandemic, and—perhaps unrelated—deal with new sexual crises produced by the state that implicate gendered bodies, these findings feel atemporal, omnipresent, and urgent."—Swethaa Ballakrishnen, American Journal of Sociology"In At Risk,Vijayakumar offers an insightful, ethnographically rich account of how AIDS funding changed the landscape of sex worker activism and related state bureaucracy in India."—Tara Gonsalves, British Journal of SociologyTable of Contents1. Introduction 2. India and the Specter of African AIDS 3. From Containment to Incorporation 4. At-Risk Citizens 5. Risky Selves 6. Making It Count 7. India in Africa 8. After AIDS

    £79.20

  • At Risk: Indian Sexual Politics and the Global

    Stanford University Press At Risk: Indian Sexual Politics and the Global

    Book SynopsisIn the mid-1990s, experts predicted that India would face the world's biggest AIDS epidemic by 2000. Though a crisis at this scale never fully materialized, global public health institutions, donors, and the Indian state initiated a massive effort to prevent it. HIV prevention programs channeled billions of dollars toward those groups designated as at-risk—sex workers and men who have sex with men. At Risk captures this unique moment in which these criminalized and marginalized groups reinvented their "at-risk" categorization and became central players in the crisis response. The AIDS crisis created a contradictory, conditional, and temporary opening for sex-worker and LGBTIQ activists to renegotiate citizenship and to make demands on the state. Working across India and Kenya, Gowri Vijayakumar provides a fine-grained account of the political struggles at the heart of the Indian AIDS response. These range from everyday articulations of sexual identity in activist organizations in Bangalore to new approaches to HIV prevention in Nairobi, where prevention strategies first introduced in India are adapted and circulate, as in the global AIDS field more broadly. Vijayakumar illuminates how the politics of gender, sexuality, and nationalism shape global crisis response. In so doing, she considers the precarious potential for social change in and after a crisis.Trade Review"At Risk is feminist transnational sociology at its best! Meticulously researched and beautifully written, this book tells a richly textured, and often surprising, story about how Indian sex workers and LGBTQ people impacted the terrains of sexual politics amidst the AIDS crisis. Vijayakumar deftly illuminates what the global South has to teach us about sexual epidemics, activism, and the transformation of sexual cultures."—Jyoti Puri, Simmons University"At Risk offers the near-historical, ethnographic critique of sexuality politics and the HIV/AIDS crisis in India that we need. Vijayakumar shows in rich detail how 'ideas of sexuality are the "fulcrum" for constructing difference around race, caste, gender, and class,' in part by seriously examining the transnational linkages between Indian and African sex workers' rights movements during the 1990s and 2000s. This book is a critique of a moment that is critical for understanding a uniquely global health crisis, and what it revealed about the idea of 'India' in a uniquely changing world."—Svati P. Shah, University of Massachusetts, Amherst"[At Risk] provides an excellent overview of not only the AIDS epidemic in India but also its intersections with sexual politics at home as well as its linkages to the global AIDS field. The work will prove to be useful for anthropologists, sociologists, historians, and any scholar interested in the sexual politics of AIDS in India."—Arnav Bhattacharya, H-Sci-Med-Tech"Reading [At Risk] at a time when global discourses of COVID-19 continue to dominate public health and media narratives has provided an important frame for critically thinking about global inequalities and their long- and short-term impacts on the lives of people. The book will make for interesting reading for gender and sexuality scholars and scholars interested in critically understanding the everyday state as well as contemporary India and its global dynamics."—Shannon Philip, Contributions to Indian Sociology"At Risk expands the possibilities of decolonizing American sociological scholarship... to build theory from global sites that have implications beyond their immediate coordinates. Particularly now, as we emerge from the reluctant aftermath of another global pandemic, and—perhaps unrelated—deal with new sexual crises produced by the state that implicate gendered bodies, these findings feel atemporal, omnipresent, and urgent."—Swethaa Ballakrishnen, American Journal of Sociology"In At Risk,Vijayakumar offers an insightful, ethnographically rich account of how AIDS funding changed the landscape of sex worker activism and related state bureaucracy in India."—Tara Gonsalves, British Journal of SociologyTable of Contents1. Introduction 2. India and the Specter of African AIDS 3. From Containment to Incorporation 4. At-Risk Citizens 5. Risky Selves 6. Making It Count 7. India in Africa 8. After AIDS

    £21.59

  • Special Treatment: Student Doctors at the All

    Stanford University Press Special Treatment: Student Doctors at the All

    Book SynopsisThe All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is iconic in the landscape of Indian healthcare. Established in the early years of independence, this enormous public teaching hospital rapidly gained fame for the high-quality treatment it offered at a nominal cost; at present, an average of ten thousand patients pass through the outpatient department each day. With its notorious medical program acceptance rate of less than 0.01%, AIIMS also sits at the apex of Indian medical education. To be trained as a doctor here is to be considered the best. In what way does this enduring reputation of excellence shape the institution's ethos? How does elite medical education sustain India's social hierarchies and the health inequalities entrenched within? In the first-ever ethnography of AIIMS, Anna Ruddock considers prestige as a byproduct of norms attached to ambition, aspiration, caste, and class in modern India, and illustrates how the institution's reputation affects its students' present experiences and future career choices. Ruddock untangles the threads of intellectual exceptionalism, social and power stratification, and health inequality that are woven into the health care taught and provided at AIIMS, asking what is lost when medicine is used not as a social equalizer but as a means to cultivate and maintain prestige.Trade Review"Who is medical education really for? What do medical schools actually teach? This quietly devastating study of India's 'best' medical school, and the 'best' students who attend it, reveals how good intentions and entrenched ideas about value and merit combine to produce fragmented, expensive, ill-distributed and disrespectfully delivered medical care. Special Treatment illuminates troubling patterns that extend well beyond contemporary India." -- Claire Wendland * University of Wisconsin-Madison *"Special Treatment is a valuable, much-needed addition to the sparse body of ethnographic work on elite institutions of professional education. Anna Ruddock has crafted a sensitive and sympathetic—yet nuanced and critical—account of how the best-regarded doctors in the country are trained at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. This book overcomes the daunting difficulties of studying a powerful 'institution of excellence' and illuminates its functioning without descending into hagiography." -- Satish Deshpande * Delhi University *"Ruddock's description of the overcrowded out-patient departments at AIIMS; and the common (though not exclusive) attitude of the faculty and students that patients are 'interesting cases', with little understanding of the social context of disease and healing, will be familiar to medical students from any government college in the country... A single institution cannot be expected to change the medical culture in the entire country, as Ruddock says, yet it is sad that AIIMS has not used its privileged position to show the way." -- George Thomas * The India Forum *Table of ContentsContents and Abstracts1AIIMS is AIIMS chapter abstractIn this introductory chapter I give an overview of the place of AIIMS in the landscape of Indian healthcare and its status as the country's most prestigious medical college. I outline my argument that by virtue of its elite status and narrow definition of excellence in medicine, undergraduate education at AIIMS works to reproduce rather than interrogate social inequalities, forgoing opportunities to acquaint students with the potential of medicine to be a transformative social endeavor. 2The Beginning: Establishing AIIMS chapter abstractI tell the story of the creation of AIIMS, drawing on historical sources and interviews with some of the institute's first students and faculty. I show how the institute was a product of and a response to the politics of medical education in colonial India and I discuss the tensions inherent in its mandate to embody global standards of biomedical prowess while also addressing the needs of the predominantly poor and rural population of a newly independent nation. 3Getting In: Being the Best chapter abstractI introduce the students who appear throughout the book and trace how they went from being schoolchildren considering a medical career to trainee doctors profiled in the media for winning a seat at India's most coveted medical college. In doing so, I pay particular attention to the social phenomenon that is the AIIMS MBBS entrance exam and the way that it illuminates and entrenches inequalities while also working to fuel narratives that firmly associate concepts of achievement and merit with upper casteness via the general category. Looking particularly at the function of exam ranking, I present the concept of'biographical numbers as a means of exploring the subjective impact of rank on students' sense of self and their potential futures. 4Being In: "Freedom" chapter abstractChapter 4 takes us through the gates of AIIMS and into the lives of its students. Reflecting on the discourse of freedom that I often heard from students, I interpret the MBBS as a liminal period in the lives of students, which offers transformative possibilities that nevertheless contain their own limits. This thread becomes a discussion of affirmative action at AIIMS, and the ways in which a discourse of caste and meritorious achievement influences how students think about themselves and each other as citizens and future doctors. The politics of affirmative action counter any idealized vision of AIIMS as an institution transcending oppressive social structures in the pursuit of a universal humanist medical science. The institute, and medicine itself, is not set-apart from but is emblematic of the social unease characteristic of modern India. 5Ways and Means of Learning: Impressions from the Clinic chapter abstractI discuss patient labor, a phenomenon whereby students appreciate the number and diversity of AIIMS patients as an educational asset, at an institution that conditions those students to become (super)specialized clinicians unlikely to provide the frontline care that many patients come to the hospital for lack of. I also draw on ethnographic material from wards and outpatient clinics to show how a hidden curriculum naturalizes structural inequalities that play out in the clinical encounter, imparting impressions to students of what it means to be a good doctor and a responsible patient. Integrating other ways of learning about medicine, such as through the humanities, would, I argue, create space for reflection on the social role of the doctor and open up possibilities for addressing rather than reproducing inequalities. 6Graduation: The Consequences of Excellence chapter abstractThis final chapter is concerned with AIIMS students' perceptions of possible futures, which are shot through with discursive threads about achievement and reputation, family, the state, money, and technology. These threads combine to produce a hierarchy of biomedical practice. Not all medical students go on to pursue medical professions. However, whether a student aspires to a career as a super specialist, a public health practitioner, a civil servant, or an entrepreneur, I argue that the choice is inextricable from the status bestowed upon AIIMS students at the moment of admission. The social life of this achievement, combined with the influence of norms around class, caste, gender and kinship produces expectations of the future and an individual's place within it, offering different but related impressions of what it means to be a graduate of India's most prestigious medical college. 7Appendix: On Methodology chapter abstractThis appendix explains how I was given research access to AIIMS and the methodology of the study. I discuss the ableist narratives that are traditionally attached to anthropological fieldwork and encourage more attention to the experiences of disabled anthropologists in order to make it a more inclusive social science.

    £23.39

  • Paradoxes of Care: Children and Global Medical

    Stanford University Press Paradoxes of Care: Children and Global Medical

    Book SynopsisEach year, billions of dollars are spent on global humanitarian health initiatives. These efforts are intended to care for suffering bodies, especially those of distressed children living in poverty. But as global medical aid can often overlook the local economic and political systems that cause bodily suffering, it can also unintentionally prolong the very conditions that hurt children and undermine local aid givers. Investigating medical humanitarian encounters in Egypt, Paradoxes of Care illustrates how child aid recipients and local aid experts grapple with global aid's shortcomings and its paradoxical outcomes. Rania Kassab Sweis examines how some of the world's largest aid organizations care for vulnerable children in Egypt, focusing on medical efforts with street children and out-of-school village girls. Her in-depth ethnographic study reveals how global medical aid fails to "save" these children according to its stated aims, and often maintains—or produces new—social disparities in children's lives. Foregrounding vulnerable children's responses to medical aid, Sweis moves past the unquestioned benevolence of global health to demonstrate how children must manage their own bodies and lives in the absence of adult care. With this book, she challenges readers to engage with the question of what medical caregivers and donors alike gain from such global humanitarian transactions.Trade Review"Medical humanitarianism has become the most prominent form of global health intervention. Based on the ethnographic study of several projects conducted with vulnerable children in Egypt, Paradoxes of Care uncovers, with tact and discernment, the complex and ambiguous effects of these benevolent actions as experienced by local aid workers as well as young recipients."—Didier Fassin, Institute for Advanced Study and Collège de France"This lucidly written book brings the robust anthropological critiques of global medical humanitarianism to bear on international organizations' attempts to help children in Egypt. Rania Kassab Sweis' clear analysis demonstrates the inherent paradoxes of seeking to save the 'vulnerable,' while leaving unchanged the structural conditions that produce those very vulnerabilities."—Sherine Hamdy, University of California, Irvine"This vivid and groundbreaking ethnography elevates the voices of Egypt's at-risk children, while deftly portraying the struggles of humanitarian actors to deliver aid amidst precarity. Paradoxes of Care is a must-read for those interested in medical humanitarianism, gender activism, and childhood studies in the Middle East and beyond."—Marcia C. Inhorn, Yale University"In [Paradoxes of Care]'s detaied ethnography of three nongovernmental organizations dedicated to providing medical care and health services to Egyptian children... Sweis illuminates both the global humanitarian industry and the lives of children in Egypt."—Lisa Anderson, Foreign Affairs"[Paradoxes of Care] is a valuable contribution to the field of charity and medical aid and to the cross-cultural study of children. Recommended."—M. L. Russell, CHOICE

    £79.20

  • Stanford University Press The Biomedical Empire: Lessons Learned from the

    Book SynopsisWe are all citizens of the Biomedical Empire, though few of us know it, and even fewer understand the extent of its power. In this book, Barbara Katz Rothman clarifies that critiques of biopower and the "medical industrial complex" have not gone far enough, and asserts that the medical industry is nothing short of an imperial power. Factors as fundamental as one's citizenship and sex identity—drivers of our access to basic goods and services—rely on approval and legitimation by biomedicine. Moreover, a vast and powerful global market has risen up around the empire, making it one of the largest economic forces in the world. Katz Rothman shows that biomedicine has the key elements of an imperial power: economic leverage, the faith of its citizens, and governmental rule. She investigates the Western colonial underpinnings of the empire and its rapid intrusion into everyday life, focusing on the realms of birth and death. This provides her with a powerful vantage point from which to critically examine the current moment, when the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the power structures of the empire in unprecedented ways while sparking the most visible resistance it has ever seen.Trade Review"Women have always been healers, the wise women. Barbara Katz Rothman shows how medicine has taken over the gates of life, the care of our bodies, and what has cost communities and cultures around the world."—Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Natural Causes"After the post-colonial critique of empire and the Foucauldian critique of biopower, Katz Rothman exposes the insidious reach of the biomedical empire, a global industry that has appropriated our capacity to care, commodified our sense of well-being, and seized full control over the beginning and end of life. Essential sociological reading for anyone interested in rescuing critical medical sociology from the clutches of right-wing populism."—Finn Bowring, Cardiff University"This book identifies the Biomedical Empire as the global leviathan monopolizing control of medicalized/industrialized healthcare, a truly imperial system defined by the bottom-line logic of 21st-century corporate- and finance-dominated global capitalism. This short, provocative account wonderfully illustrates how all this top-down-controlled machinery impacts intimate human events like birth, death, and the lonely terror of COVID-19 pandemic victims."—David Smith, University of California, Irvine"This work is a crisp critique of biomedicine which shows hope for a way out of the Biomedical Empire wherein the public, health and care may be infused back into public health."—Meghna Roy, Sociology of Health and Illness"While the book primarily draws on examples from the United States and the author's own lived experience, Rothman makes the case that the biomedical empire is transnational and transcends the nation-state. Unfolding over ten chapters, the book contributes to existing work in the sociology of medicine and scholarship on empire in contemporary contexts."—Durgesh Solanki, Journal of World-Systems Research"This book provides a compelling argument that only by naming the Biomedical Empire and recognizing biomedical citizenship can we begin to transform societies to act on the fundamental determinants of health."—Crystal Adams, Contemporary Sociology"Taken together... this book is a powerful damnation of contemporary health care systems, particularly in the United States where every service is itemized and billed."—Jill Thistlethwaite, Fulbright Chronicles"In a nutshell, [Katz Rothman's] book is a must-have not just for scholars and researchers interested in medical sociology but also for anybody seeking to familiarize themselves with the biomedical empire. Anyone who has visited a hospital or used biomedical services will be able to connect to the book. As a result, practically everyone should read the book."—Pankaj Singh, H-Death"[The Biomedical Empire is] an invitation to us all to rethink how we theorize the local and the global, class and power, and our subjection to persistent, escalating inequality worldwide."—Lenore Manderson, American Journal of SociologyTable of ContentsContents and Abstracts1A Moment of Crisis chapter abstractThe covid pandemic has laid bare many of the structural problems and inequalities of biomedicine as a global industry. Inequalities across nation-states as well as within them have been made apparent, as have some of the dehumanizing and isolating practices of medical treatment. We must both acknowledge the good that medicine does and recognize its failures. 2A Sociologist Walks into a Pandemic chapter abstractThis chapter lays out the basic elements of sociological thinking, the understanding of structural and cultural factors. It explains the concept of 'social construction' and shows how that is applied to medicine. 3Bringing Medical Sociology into the 21st Century chapter abstractSociology must go beyond thinking of individual 'societies' and understand the globalization of power. This applies to biopower, the ways that the imperial power of Biomedicine has expanded its reach. Biomedicine functions globally in much the way we think of other imperial powers, from the Roman Empire to the British and onward, colonizing arenas of knowledge and practice, and turning them into sources of income for the colonizer. 4The Three Elements of an Empire chapter abstractTo understand Biomedicine as an Imperial power means seeing it as not only one of the largest industries on earth, but also as a governmental force and as a religious force. This chapter details the wide economic reach of biomedicine as one of the largest industries on earth, which also has a rule of law, bestowing citizenship, legitimating individuals as having the right to have rights; certifying both birth and death certificates; and legitimating mental states of being. Biomedicine also functions as a religion, a source of belief and comfort. 5What Have We Lost? Where Did the Care Go? chapter abstractWe must distinguish 'health care' from 'medical services.' Public health is increasingly presented as access to medical services, the 'ask your doctor' approach. Public health in its origins was about creating a health-enabling environment, providing clean air, water, safe housing and this chapter argues we must return to that. Within biomedical control, individuals are best understood as 'patients,' consumers of medical services. The language of 'patient' is itself explored. 6The Land of the Sick chapter abstractThis chapter builds on Sontag's words, identifying illness as 'land of the sick.' Diagnosis serves the administrative purpose of admitting, or denying admission, to that land, via the 'sick role,' the position of patient. Where in traditional societies religion stood at the gates of life, welcoming and legitimating newly created people and ushering out the dying, in the contemporary world Biomedicine has taken over that function. This is apparent in the world of procreation, in which biomedicine controls the definition of embryonic and fetal personhood, and in death in which a medical declaration and certificate is required. Birth and death have become procedural moments under biomedical control. 7Death and Dying: Seen Through the Lens of Covid-19 chapter abstractThis chapter discusses sudden death and the history of attempts at resuscitation; slow death, the increasing movement of death into hospital-management; and the slowest death, the growth of nursing homes and long-term-care facilities. The role of nursing home in covid deaths has been dramatic, and the inherent risks of these facilities laid clear. 8The Other Gate: Birth in the Time of Covid chapter abstractBirth was one of the early examples of colonization in medicine, as doctors pushed midwives out of practice and turned birth into a medical procedure, with (contrary to popular belief) increased risks and loss of life. As the pandemic made the dangers of hospitalization more clear, the contemporary movement for out-of-hospital birth received more attention. The risks of hospitalization are not randomly distributed, social class and –in the United States in particular – race are risk factors for medical mistreatment. 9The Empire Strikes Back chapter abstractAmong the more dramatic images to come out of the covid epidemic have been the isolation of the sick, elderly and the dying. The absence of caring attention has become apparent as people are blocked from bedside presence. Some attempts were made to move outside of the 'hot bed' of infection that hospitals are, the place where the infectious and sick are congregated. And attempts were made to control the spread of the disease using variations on 'lockdowns,' closing borders and limiting interpersonal connection in what was called 'social distancing,' all with limited success. 10Lessons Learned chapter abstractPoints of resistance to the control of biomedicine as an imperial power can be seen in different communities around the globe and can give indications of how such resistance might be furthered. In this as in the rest of the book, the good that medicine can do is recognized. The development of a vaccine is a powerful force for good, but resistance or fear can be best understood in the context of the larger imperial power. We must put a focus on health, and a valuing of care, into what is called 'healthcare' but should more accurately be called 'medical services'.

    £13.94

  • Epidemic Orientalism: Race, Capital, and the

    Stanford University Press Epidemic Orientalism: Race, Capital, and the

    Book SynopsisFor many residents of Western nations, COVID-19 was the first time they experienced the effects of an uncontrolled epidemic. This is in part due to a series of little-known regulations that have aimed to protect the global north from epidemic threats for the last two centuries, starting with International Sanitary Conferences in 1851 and culminating in the present with the International Health Regulations, which organize epidemic responses through the World Health Organization. Unlike other equity-focused global health initiatives, their mission—to establish "the maximum protections from infectious disease with the minimum effect on trade and traffic"—has remained the same since their founding. Using this as his starting point, Alexandre White reveals the Western capitalist interests, racism and xenophobia, and political power plays underpinning the regulatory efforts that came out of the project to manage the international spread of infectious disease. He examines how these regulations are formatted; how their framers conceive of epidemic spread; and the types of bodies and spaces it is suggested that these regulations map onto. Proposing a modified reinterpretation of Edward Said's concept of orientalism, White invites us to consider "epidemic orientalism" as a framework within which to explore the imperial and colonial roots of modern epidemic disease control.Trade Review"White writes critically and necessarily on the historical actions taken to prevent the spread of infectious disease. With great care, he deftly unpacks the racial and economic costs of global health initiatives and examines the ideals behind their genesis. The book is a remarkable and necessary re-thinking of medical history through the lens of 'epidemic orientalism'."—Hollie Sherwood-Martin, The Lancet Infectious DiseasesTable of ContentsIntroduction 1. Epidemic Orientalism 2. The International Sanitary Conventions at a Colonial Scale 3. Epidemics under the WHO 4. The Battle to Police Disease 5. Epidemics, Power, and the Global Management of Disease Risk 6. Pricing Pandemics Conclusion

    £64.80

  • Making Sense: Markets from Stories in New Breast

    Stanford University Press Making Sense: Markets from Stories in New Breast

    Book SynopsisBreast cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers and a leading cause of death for women worldwide. With advances in molecular engineering in the 1980s, hopes began to rise that a non-toxic and non-invasive treatment for breast cancer could be developed. These hopes were stoked by the researchers, biotech companies, and analysts who worked to make sense of the uncertainties during product development. In Making Sense Sophie Mützel traces this emergence of "innovative breast cancer therapeutics" from the late 1980s up to 2010, through the lens of the narratives of the involved actors. Combining theories of economic and cultural sociology, Mützel shows how stories are integral for the emergence of new markets; stories of the future create a market of expectations prior to any existing products; stories also help to create categories on what such a new market and its products are about. Making Sense uses thousands of press statements, media reports, scientific reports, and financial and industry analyses, and combines qualitative and large-scale computational text analyses, to illustrate these mechanisms, presenting a fresh view of how life-prolonging innovations can be turned into market products. Trade Review"Mützel brilliantly connects market emergence and creation of a market of expectations in a book that defines the next level of excitement in theorizing entanglements of structure, culture, and meaning."—Ronald Breiger, University of Arizona"Deftly interweaving text analyses and computational methods to examine thousands of stories, Mützel fashions a virtuoso example of relational sociology."—Woody Powell, Stanford University"Making Sense makes a seminal contribution to the understanding of markets and innovation processes."—Jens Beckert, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, Cologne"By focusing on the role of stories in market emergence and by combining qualitative and computational text analysis, Making Sense—as Mützel highlights in the conclusions—partakes in the debates among economic sociologists concerning the relevance of culture in market emergence and how to measure it.... Making Sense offers readers the opportunity to approach the topic through a fascinating methodology."—Penelope K. Hardy, H-Sci-Med-Tech"Indeed, Mützel's book can be read as much for its substantive contributions as it can be for its method. This text is innovative in its approach to analysis through its combination of close textual analysis to study meaning-making processes, alongside its deployment of computational methods to understand the macro discursive trajectories and patterns in meaning making in breast cancer therapeutics over two decades."—Melanie Jeske, Social ForcesTable of ContentsIntroduction 1. Markets and Stories 2. Breast Cancer Therapies and Innovation 3. A Market of Expectations 4. Making Sense of a Market 5. Patterns in Meaning-Making: Categories over Time Conclusion: Markets from Stories

    £64.80

  • When Misfortune Becomes Injustice: Evolving Human

    Stanford University Press When Misfortune Becomes Injustice: Evolving Human

    Book SynopsisWhen Misfortune Becomes Injustice surveys the progress and challenges in deploying human rights to advance health and social equality over recent decades. Alicia Ely Yamin weaves together theory and firsthand experience in a compelling narrative of how evolving legal norms, empirical knowledge, and development paradigms have interacted in the realization of health rights, and challenges us to consider why these advances have failed to produce greater equality within and between nations. In this revised and expanded second edition, Yamin incorporates crucial lessons learned about the state of global health equity and public health systems during the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrating just how incompatible the current institutionalized world order—based on neoliberal, financialized capitalism—is with one in which the rights of diverse people around the globe can be realized. COVID-19 struck a world that had been shaped by decades of disinvestment in public health, health systems, and social protection, as well as privatization of wealth and gaping social inequalities within and between countries, and the evident crisis of confidence in the capacity of democratic political institutions and global governance was deepened by the pandemic. Yamin argues that transformative human rights praxis in health calls for addressing issues of structural inequality and political economy, and working across disciplinary silos through networks and social movements.Trade Review"In an increasingly unequal, fragmented, and unaccountable global order in which intellectual property rights trump health rights, this extraordinary book is a powerful call – by a scholar-activist dedicated to converting 'misfortune to be endured into injustice to be remedied' – to pursue human rights transformatively, to advance connection, dignity, equality, and social justice."—Jackie Dugard, Columbia University"This book makes you believe in the power of invoking human rights to advance health justice, especially if you're doubtful, despondent, or simply new to the topic. It is filled with stories that ignite a fire in you to do something, and insights to think through what you might do."—Seye Abimbola, University of Sydney"Alicia Yamin is able to combine, in a way that very few authors can, a sensitive and empathetic account of the tragic consequences of the widespread denial of the right to health with a deeply informed critique of global health policies. This book offers not only deep insights into the struggles to achieve health and social equality, but explains in highly readable and accessible terms what needs to be done. A wonderful read and an inspired guide."—Philip Alston, Pomeroy Professor of Law at New York University and former UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights (2014-2020)"Yamin's book is a story of hope and the resilience that highlights how individuals, communities, and societies can confront power asymmetries and shift them to realise their health and human rights. The book provides a compelling account for students of health and human rights and for advocates on how human rights can be applied to transform the narrative from 'misfortune to be endured' to one of 'injustice to be remedied'."—Rajat Khosla, The Lancet"Yamin's book is a 'must read' for those emerged in the struggle for a healthy society, and for students of any stage of learning who seek to understand the history of and the potential of the human right to health."—Louise C. Ivers, ReVista: Harvard Review of Latin AmericaPraise for the first edition "Yamin draws on years of practical field experience to speak with unique authority among human rights scholars about the global and national dynamics that systematically produce poverty and health inequalities across the world."—Paul E. Farmer, Harvard University, and Co-Founder and Chief Strategist of Partners In HealthTable of ContentsIntroduction: Allegorizing the World Chapter 1: Indignation and Injustice Chapter 2: The Significances of Suffering Chapter 3: Diverging Parables of Progress Chapter 4: Dystopian Modernization Chapter 5: Global Crises, Pandemics, and Norms Chapter 6: Inequality, Democracy, and Health Rights Chapter 7: Power, Politics, and Knowledge Conclusions: The Struggle for the World We Want

    £68.00

  • Conflicted Care: Doctors Navigating Patient

    Stanford University Press Conflicted Care: Doctors Navigating Patient

    Book SynopsisAn eye-opening and compelling ethnography about how doctors make decisions The oath that doctors take to "do no harm" suggests that patient welfare is at the center of what it means to be a successful medical professional. It is also understood, however, that hospitals are not only vessels for medical care—they are businesses, educational institutions, and complex bureaucracies with intricate codes of etiquette that dictate how each staff member should approach situations with patients. In Conflicted Care, Hyeyoung Oh Nelson provides an in-depth look at the decision-making processes of physicians at a large, prestigious academic medical center—that she calls Pacific Medical Center—and finds that more often than not patient wellbeing is only one of several factors governing day-to-day decisions. The steps physicians take reveal a kind of hidden curriculum of the medical world, one that is guided by status and hierarchy, bureaucracy, norms for consulting with third-parties, regulations for interactions with patients, and medical uncertainty. While at an institutional and individual level patient care continues to be integral to everything the physicians do, they are forced to reconcile that vow with these other, often-conflicting internal logics. Harm, Nelson argues, is thus built into the practice of medicine in the United States. This harm can take the form of unnecessary treatments and consultations or inadequate treatment for pain to motivate specialist intervention that would otherwise be resisted. These and other practices have the overall consequence of significantly driving up inpatient care costs, which then results in patients forgoing needed, ongoing treatment once they receive their medical bills. Drawing on a deep ethnography of physicians in the Internal Medicine Service unit, Nelson offers a sharp assessment of current policies aimed at alleviating medical costs and explains why they are ineffective. She concludes by offering novel policy and practice recommendations for health care practitioners, policy makers, and healthcare institutions. Trade Review"This impressive book makes important contributions to our understanding of the different types of pressures that add to the complexity of medical care in the United States today. The close, on-the-ground description of these concerns is a valuable addition to the sociology of medicine and health."—Michael Sauder, author of Engines of Anxiety"[Conflicted Care] presents a valuable framework for a careful evaluation of factors influencing medical decision-making that can be replicated in various settings and time periods. Recommended."—R. A. Brugna, CHOICE"[Conflicted Care] provides a sociological analysis of medical practice in today's clinical setting. It is precisely written and well crafted.... [T]his book is an excellent analysis of contemporary medical decision-making in a complicated work environment."—William C. Cockerham, Contemporary Sociology"By showing that the commodification of medicine comes alive for doctors every single day, [Conflicted Care] makes a powerful case for why medical students should acquire a much better understanding of how finance shapes health care provision."—Guillermina Altomonte, Social ForcesTable of Contents1. Doctors' Dilemmas 2. Conflicting Logics 3. Notation 4. Consultations 5. Discharge 6. Costs

    £19.79

  • Making Sense: Markets from Stories in New Breast

    Stanford University Press Making Sense: Markets from Stories in New Breast

    Book SynopsisBreast cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers and a leading cause of death for women worldwide. With advances in molecular engineering in the 1980s, hopes began to rise that a non-toxic and non-invasive treatment for breast cancer could be developed. These hopes were stoked by the researchers, biotech companies, and analysts who worked to make sense of the uncertainties during product development. In Making Sense Sophie Mützel traces this emergence of "innovative breast cancer therapeutics" from the late 1980s up to 2010, through the lens of the narratives of the involved actors. Combining theories of economic and cultural sociology, Mützel shows how stories are integral for the emergence of new markets; stories of the future create a market of expectations prior to any existing products; stories also help to create categories on what such a new market and its products are about. Making Sense uses thousands of press statements, media reports, scientific reports, and financial and industry analyses, and combines qualitative and large-scale computational text analyses, to illustrate these mechanisms, presenting a fresh view of how life-prolonging innovations can be turned into market products. Trade Review"Mützel brilliantly connects market emergence and creation of a market of expectations in a book that defines the next level of excitement in theorizing entanglements of structure, culture, and meaning."—Ronald Breiger, University of Arizona"Deftly interweaving text analyses and computational methods to examine thousands of stories, Mützel fashions a virtuoso example of relational sociology."—Woody Powell, Stanford University"Making Sense makes a seminal contribution to the understanding of markets and innovation processes."—Jens Beckert, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, Cologne"By focusing on the role of stories in market emergence and by combining qualitative and computational text analysis, Making Sense—as Mützel highlights in the conclusions—partakes in the debates among economic sociologists concerning the relevance of culture in market emergence and how to measure it.... Making Sense offers readers the opportunity to approach the topic through a fascinating methodology."—Penelope K. Hardy, H-Sci-Med-Tech"Indeed, Mützel's book can be read as much for its substantive contributions as it can be for its method. This text is innovative in its approach to analysis through its combination of close textual analysis to study meaning-making processes, alongside its deployment of computational methods to understand the macro discursive trajectories and patterns in meaning making in breast cancer therapeutics over two decades."—Melanie Jeske, Social ForcesTable of ContentsIntroduction 1. Markets and Stories 2. Breast Cancer Therapies and Innovation 3. A Market of Expectations 4. Making Sense of a Market 5. Patterns in Meaning-Making: Categories over Time Conclusion: Markets from Stories

    £23.39

  • When Misfortune Becomes Injustice: Evolving Human

    Stanford University Press When Misfortune Becomes Injustice: Evolving Human

    Book SynopsisWhen Misfortune Becomes Injustice surveys the progress and challenges in deploying human rights to advance health and social equality over recent decades. Alicia Ely Yamin weaves together theory and firsthand experience in a compelling narrative of how evolving legal norms, empirical knowledge, and development paradigms have interacted in the realization of health rights, and challenges us to consider why these advances have failed to produce greater equality within and between nations. In this revised and expanded second edition, Yamin incorporates crucial lessons learned about the state of global health equity and public health systems during the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrating just how incompatible the current institutionalized world order—based on neoliberal, financialized capitalism—is with one in which the rights of diverse people around the globe can be realized. COVID-19 struck a world that had been shaped by decades of disinvestment in public health, health systems, and social protection, as well as privatization of wealth and gaping social inequalities within and between countries, and the evident crisis of confidence in the capacity of democratic political institutions and global governance was deepened by the pandemic. Yamin argues that transformative human rights praxis in health calls for addressing issues of structural inequality and political economy, and working across disciplinary silos through networks and social movements.Trade Review"In an increasingly unequal, fragmented, and unaccountable global order in which intellectual property rights trump health rights, this extraordinary book is a powerful call – by a scholar-activist dedicated to converting 'misfortune to be endured into injustice to be remedied' – to pursue human rights transformatively, to advance connection, dignity, equality, and social justice."—Jackie Dugard, Columbia University"This book makes you believe in the power of invoking human rights to advance health justice, especially if you're doubtful, despondent, or simply new to the topic. It is filled with stories that ignite a fire in you to do something, and insights to think through what you might do."—Seye Abimbola, University of Sydney"Alicia Yamin is able to combine, in a way that very few authors can, a sensitive and empathetic account of the tragic consequences of the widespread denial of the right to health with a deeply informed critique of global health policies. This book offers not only deep insights into the struggles to achieve health and social equality, but explains in highly readable and accessible terms what needs to be done. A wonderful read and an inspired guide."—Philip Alston, Pomeroy Professor of Law at New York University and former UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights (2014-2020)"Yamin's book is a story of hope and the resilience that highlights how individuals, communities, and societies can confront power asymmetries and shift them to realise their health and human rights. The book provides a compelling account for students of health and human rights and for advocates on how human rights can be applied to transform the narrative from 'misfortune to be endured' to one of 'injustice to be remedied'."—Rajat Khosla, The Lancet"Yamin's book is a 'must read' for those emerged in the struggle for a healthy society, and for students of any stage of learning who seek to understand the history of and the potential of the human right to health."—Louise C. Ivers, ReVista: Harvard Review of Latin AmericaPraise for the first edition "Yamin draws on years of practical field experience to speak with unique authority among human rights scholars about the global and national dynamics that systematically produce poverty and health inequalities across the world."—Paul E. Farmer, Harvard University, and Co-Founder and Chief Strategist of Partners In HealthTable of ContentsIntroduction: Allegorizing the World Chapter 1: Indignation and Injustice Chapter 2: The Significances of Suffering Chapter 3: Diverging Parables of Progress Chapter 4: Dystopian Modernization Chapter 5: Global Crises, Pandemics, and Norms Chapter 6: Inequality, Democracy, and Health Rights Chapter 7: Power, Politics, and Knowledge Conclusions: The Struggle for the World We Want

    £23.79

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