Abstract
Through a multi-sited ethnography of three different types of organizationa traditional medical clinic, two laboratories, and a biotech companythis article examines how Korean medicine (KM) scientizes, globalizes, and industrializes its clinical knowledge. By tracing the complex networking process among multiple places, I aim to understand how KM reinvents its knowledge, identity, and boundaries in a global situation. In particular, I pay attention to how this process involves multiple dimensions of power relations, economic interests, and scientific authorities. This article concludes that heterogeneous and unequal encounters between KM, science, and industry lead to simultaneous productions of new culture and power without reducing them to a single logic or center in a global age.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 31-64 |
| Number of pages | 34 |
| Journal | Medical Anthropology: Cross Cultural Studies in Health and Illness |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jan 2009 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The author wishes to thank Hyun-Soo Bae, Ung-Se Lee, Bo-Up Choi, Chul-Hoon Son, and the many members of Ye Oriental Clinic, Kyung Hee University, and Purimed Company who helped him conduct fieldwork and interviews. Without their kindness, this research would not be possible. He also wishes to thank Gardner Rogers for editing this paper several times. Finally, he thanks four anonymous referees for their valuable comments and criticisms. This research was supported by the Kyung Hee University Fund in 2008 (KHU-20081443).
Keywords
- Actor-network theory
- Multi-sited ethnography
- Scientization
- Sociotechnical relation
- Transcultural medicine