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THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF PHARMACEUTICALS: A Biographical Approach

Geest, Sjaak van der, Whyte, Susan Reynolds, Hardon, Anita·1996·Annual Review of Anthropology

Abstract

▪ Abstract This review discusses pharmaceuticals as social and cultural phenomena by following their “life cycle” from production, marketing, and prescription to distribution, purchasing, consumption, and finally their efficacy. Each phase has its own particular context, actors, and transactions and is characterized by different sets of values and ideas. The anthropology of pharmaceuticals is relevant to medical anthropology and health policy. It also touches the heart of general anthropology with its long-time interest in the concepts of culture vs nature, symbolization and social transformation, and its more recent concerns with the cultural construction of the body and processes of globalization and localization. The study of transactions and meanings of pharmaceuticals in diverse social settings provides a particularly appropriate empirical base for addressing these new theoretical issues.

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Metadata

Authors
Geest, S. V. D., Whyte, S. R., & Hardon, A.
Venue
Annual Review of Anthropology
Published
1996-10
Volume
25
Issue
1
Pages
153-178
ISSN
  • 0084-6570 (ISSN-L)
  • 1545-4290
OpenAlex
W2110289718
Cited by
494
References
3
FWCI
11.30
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed

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Geest, S. V. D., Whyte, S. R., & Hardon, A. (1996). THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF PHARMACEUTICALS: A Biographical Approach. Annual Review of Anthropology. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.anthro.25.1.153

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