Complementary and Alternative Medicine : Bodies, Therapies, Senses

Alternative medicine therapies have evolved from the province of the hippy counterculture movement in the 1960s to be firmly established in mainstream healthcare in the 21st century. This book critcally examines the alternative medicine phenomenon by asking Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) practitioners what makes these therapies so appealing, drawing on comprehensive interviews and the author's longstanding participation in this field. Providing a wealth of information from both within the CAM community and around the CAM culture, this text explains the medical and economic sensation of alternative medicine, at once spiritual, medical, recreational and physical. It also examines different viewpoints on the subject from denouncements of alternative medicine as "the triumph of superstition over reason" to a "popular cultural phenomenon that fits the pleasure-seeking drive of consumerism with spiritual and neo-liberal undertones". Complementary and Alternative Medicine is essential reading for students and scholars of cultural studies, anthropology, sensory studies and sociology.Barcan, Ruth is the author of 'Complementary and Alternative Medicine : Bodies, Therapies, Senses', published 2011 under ISBN 9781845207434 and ISBN 1845207432.