Presents material on the social basis of health, illness and healing. This book helps the reader incorporate many of the elements of the medical anthropology and sociology of health and illness. It provides students with an introduction to the field.

Preface. Acknowledgements. Part I: Biomedicine and the Body:. 1. Biomedicine and the Body: Colin Samson. 2. Spaces and Classes: Michel Foucault. 3. Natural Facts: A Historical Perspective on Science and Sexuality: L.J. Jordanova. 4. Artificiality and Enlightenment: From Sociobiology to Biosociality: Paul Rabinow. Part II: Disease and the Self:. 5. Disease and the Self: Colin Samson. 6. Human Contact in Life-Threatening Environments: James J. Lynch. 7. Cancer and the Self: How Illness Constellates Meaning: Roger Levin. 8. Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and Its Metaphors: Susan Sontag. 9. Holistic Medicine: Fred Frohock. Part III: The Physician and the Patient: . 10. The Physician and the Patient: Colin Samson. 11. The Last Hippie: Oliver Sacks. 12. The Body as Territory and Wonder: Arthur W. Frank. 13. Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and the Medical Encounter: Lesley Cooper. 14. A Fortunate Man: John Berger. Part IV: Creating Sickness: . 15. Creating Sickness: Colin Samson. 16. Results of Industrialisation: Freidrich Engels. 17. Rats' Tails and Trypanosomes: Nature and Culture in Early Colonial Medicine: Megan Vaughan. 18. Yuuyaraq: The Way of the Human Being: Harold Napoleon. 19. Nervoso: Medicine, Sickness, and Human Needs: Nancy Scheper-Hughes. Index.

This volume brings together key readings of significant moments in the understanding of health. It goes beyond the often superficial literature-review style of medical sociology texts. In doing so, this book presents a challenging array of classic and new material on the social basis of health, illness and healing. The Reader incorporates many of the elements of the "new" medical anthropology and sociology of health and illness. Each section of the book is introduced with an essay by the editor, providing a fresh perspective on topical issues setting out the core concerns of the authors whose work follows. In addition, the Reader is supported by an extensive guide to further reading. It provides students with an introduction to the field and a critical insight into current debates.