This collection brings together three generations of medical anthropologists working at European universities to reflect on past, current and future directions of the field. Medical anthropology emerged on an international playing ground, and while other recently compiled anthologies emphasize North American developments, this volume highlights substantial ethnographic and theoretical studies undertaken in Europe. The first four chapters trace the beginnings of medical anthropology back into the two formative decades between the 1950s-1970s in Italy, German-speaking Europe, the Netherlands, France and the UK, supported by four brief vignettes on current developments. Three core themes that emerged within this field in Europe - the practice of care, the body politic and psycho-sensorial dimensions of healing - are first presented in synopsis and then separately discussed by three leading medical anthropologists Susan Whyte, Giovanni Pizza and Rene Devisch, complemented by the work of three early career researchers. The chapters aim to highlight how very diverse (and sometimes overlooked) European developments within this rapidly growing field have been, and continue to be. This book will spur reflection on medical anthropology's potential for future scholarship and practice, by students and established scholars alike.

This book was originally published as a special issue of Anthropology and Medicine.

About the Author

Elisabeth Hsu is Professor in Anthropology at the University of Oxford, UK, where she co-founded and convenes the Medical Anthropology teaching and research programme.

Caroline Potter is Lecturer in Medical Anthropology at Oxford, UK, where she obtained her doctorate in 2007 within this programme and assisted in building it up between 2008 and 2014.

Book Information
ISBN 9780367739379
Author Elisabeth Hsu
Format Paperback
Page Count 138
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 270g