Description
Until recently, complementary medical knowledge has generally been treated as ‘marginal’ or ‘heterodox’ knowledge. However, the rise of complementary medicine within health-care systems has signalled the end of its marginal status. With this have come concerns about how knowledge is generated within complementary therapies; what kind of authority can be accorded to such knowledge; the nature of research agendas; what ideas and skills are central to training and how they are transmitted. This book examines these concerns in relation to a range of healing practices: acupuncture, homeopathy, chiropractic, reflexology, Chi Kung, herbalism and osteopathy. The contributors to bring sociological, anthropological and practitioner perspectives to the growing debate about the future of complementary medicine. Edited by Sarah Cant and Ursula Sharma.