The Politics of Healing: Histories of Alternative Medicine in Twentieth-century North America

Front Cover
Robert D. Johnston
Psychology Press, 2004 - Health & Fitness - 388 pages
From grocery store to doctor's office, alternative medicine is everywhere. A recent survey found that more than two in five Americans uses some form of alternative medicine. The Politics of Healing brings together top scholars in the fields of American history, history of medicine, anthropology, sociology, and politics to counter the view that alternative medical therapies fell into disrepute in the decades after physicians established their institutional authority during the Progressive Era. From homeopathy to Navajo healing, this volume explores a variety of alternative therapies and political movements that have set the terms of debate over North American healing methods.

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Contents

THE YEARS IN THE WILDERNESS
6
CONTEMPORARY PRACTICESCONTEMPORARY LEGACIES
7
SCIENCE AND THE SHADOW OF IDEOLOGY IN THE
55
ALLOPATHIC MEDICINE MEETS
69
SISTER KENNY GOES TO WASHINGTON
97
THE LUNATIC FRINGE STRIKES BACK
117
NOT A SOCALLED DEMOCRACY
131
BEYOND THE CULTURE WARS
245
CONTEMPORARY ANTIVACCINATION MOVEMENTS IN
259
FROM CULTISM TO CAM
287
Contributors
307
Index
373
Copyright

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The 1970s
Kelly Boyer Sagert
No preview available - 2007
The 1970s
Kelly Boyer Sagert
No preview available - 2007

About the author (2004)

Robert D. Johnston is Associate Professor and Director of Teacher Education in the History Department at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

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