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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Communication

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University of Massachusetts Amherst

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Anthropology

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Holistic Medicine Not "Torture": Performing Acupuncture In Galway, Ireland, Kevin Taylor Anderson Jan 2010

Holistic Medicine Not "Torture": Performing Acupuncture In Galway, Ireland, Kevin Taylor Anderson

Adjunct Faculty Author Gallery

This article examines how the aesthetic design of clinics and interactive discourse 5 and rituals construct the social reality of acupuncture sessions as a form of holistic medical therapy. Verbal and nonverbal interactions create an appealing medical environment but also help prevent the emergence of undesired counter-realities (e.g., pain, biomedical intervention). Based on observations of acupuncture sessions conducted in Galway, Ireland, I illustrate how 10 ambiance and aesthetic elements of clinics create a complex medico-cultural environment that balances oppositional associations (Western=non-Western, exoticism=convention, medical alterity=medical professionalism). Patients inter- viewed continually referred to acupuncture as a natural and non-invasive form of medical …


Towards An Anarchy Of Imagery: Questioning The Categorization Of Films As "Ethnographic", Kevin Taylor Anderson Jan 2003

Towards An Anarchy Of Imagery: Questioning The Categorization Of Films As "Ethnographic", Kevin Taylor Anderson

Adjunct Faculty Author Gallery

No abstract provided.