Nomad RSI - Therapeutic diversity and the environment

Edited by Laurent Pordié (2011 [2008]). London & New York: Routledge [Series of the Needham Research Institute, Cambridge], 288p.
Language: English.

Winner of the
ICAS Book Prize 2009
Colleagues Choice Award

The popularity of Tibetan medicine plays a central role in the international market for alternative medicine and has been increasing and extending far beyond its original cultural area, becoming a global phenomenon. The logics of the neo-liberal economy, modern institutionalization, state-controlled policies, biomedicalization, and the renewed aspirations of the practitioners have brought about a dramatic change in medical provision on the national level and an unprecedented expansion of Tibetan medicine at the international level. This book analyses Tibetan medicine in the 21st century by considering the contemporary reasons that have led to its diversity and by bringing out the common orientations of this medical system. Using case studies that examine of the social, political and identity dynamics of Tibetan medicine in Nepal, India, the PRC, Mongolia, the UK and the US, the contributors to this book answer the following three fundamental questions: What are the modalities and issues involved in the social and therapeutic transformations of Tibetan medicine? How are national policies and health reforms connected to the processes of contemporary redefinition of this medicine? How does Tibetan medicine fit into the present, globalized context of the medical world?

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"This remarkable multi-authored volume will decisively transform conventional understanding about indigenous medical knowledge and practices of all kinds in the contemporary world."
Margaret Lock – Professor in Social Studies in Medicine at McGill University

"[This book] is an excellent compendium which, offering a variety of approaches, has been able to present a lucid picture of the non-homogeneous nature of the Tibetan medical system in the contemporary world."
Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 15 (2009)

"This collection is a major contribution to the growing body of literature on the impact of globalisation on ‘indigenous’ medicines of Asia. Many of the issues it raises as well as the conceptual value of ‘neo-traditionalism’ are not limited to Tibetan medicine alone. Scholars working on ‘indigenous’ healing traditions, particularly in Asia, but also beyond, will find in this collection much to which they can relate and from which they can learn."
Social History of Medicine, 22:3 (2009)

"This book leaves the reader with a plethora of new information as well as an updated global, pluralistic picture of the continuing process of change that is transforming Tibetan medicine in the twentieth-first century."
Asian Medicine, 4 (2008)

"Critical yet respectful discussions engage with the practice of Tibetan medicine both in Asia and the West and this well-produced volume is a landmark in the field which will be required reading for students and specialists alike. It is a cohesive collection, and its essays are fresh and original, as well as readable and highly informative. It will be a basic source for many years to come."
Reading Committee ICAS Book Prize (2009)