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

Alternative medicine is commonplace in today's world3. This text brings combines 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. Humanities BOOK COVER 1 HALF-TITLE 2 TITLE 3 COPYRIGHT 4 DEDICATION 5 CONTENTS 6 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 8 INTRODUCTION 9 PRECURSORS: THE YEARS IN THE WILDERNESS 16 NEGOTIATING DISSENT 17 I 17 II 18 III 22 IV 25 V 31 MAKING FRIENDS FOR “PURE” HOMEOPATHY 35 REVISITING THE “GOLDEN AGE” OF REGULAR MEDICINE 49 THE POLITICS OF HEALING IN ONTARIO: SUFFERERS, HEALERS, AND LEGISLATORS 52 THE POLITICS OF ALTERNATIVE CANCER CARE: THE CASE OF RENE CAISSE 54 THE GOLDEN AGE OF MEDICINE: GOING, GOING, GONE 58 SCIENCE AND THE SHADOW OF IDEOLOGY IN THE AMERICAN HEALTH FOODS MOVEMENT, 1930S–1960S 60 SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUND OF THE HEALTH FOODS MOVEMENT 61 PRINCIPAL CLAIMS OF THE HEALTH FOODS MOVEMENT 62 HEALTH FOODIST IDEOLOGY 65 SCIENTIFIC CONTROVERSY AND THE SHADOW OF IDEOLOGY 69 CONCLUSION 71 INTERSECTIONS: ALLOPATHIC MEDICINE MEETS ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE 73 “VOODOO DEATH” 74 FANTASIZING VOODOO: ONTOLOGIZING FANTASY 75 AN INVISIBLE-VISIBLE SUBVERSION 77 THE POLITICS OF EMOTIONS 80 DEATH BY EXCITEMENTS 82 CONCLUSION 83 WESTERN MEDICINE AND NAVAJO HEALING 85 CONTESTING THE COLD WAR MEDICAL MONOPOLY 97 SISTER KENNY GOES TO WASHINGTON 98 RESEARCH, POPULISM, AND THE GOLDEN AGE OF AMERICAN MEDICINE 100 KENNY: POPULIST EXPERT 103 RESEARCH, PUBLIC RELATIONS, AND THE NATIONAL FOUNDATION 107 KENNY AND CONGRESS 109 AFTER THE HEARINGS: POLIO, POPULISM, AND THE COLD WAR 113 CONCLUSION 115 THE LUNATIC FRINGE STRIKES BACK 118 THE ANTI-COMMUNIST MOVEMENT 120 FROM MENTAL ILLNESS TO MENTAL HEALTH 121 THE INSTIGATORS OF THE ANTI-MENTAL-HEALTH MOVEMENT 123 THE ALASKA BILL CONTROVERSY 126 MENTAL HEALTH AND THE RISING RIGHT 128 “NOT A SO-CALLED DEMOCRACY” 132 ORIGINS OF THE MOVEMENT 133 ANTI-FLUORIDATIONISTS ON THE NATIONAL POLITICAL STAGE 140 ANTI-FLUORIDATIONISTS AND THE AMERICAN POLITICAL TRADITION 147 CONCLUSION 149 CONTEMPORARY PRACTICES/CONTEMPORARY LEGACIES 151 ENGENDERING ALTERNATIVES 152 WOMEN’S HISTORICAL CONNECTIONS TO ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE 153 FEMINIST POLITICIZATION OF WOMEN’S HEALTH 155 ALTERNATIVE DIRECTIONS FOR WOMEN 161 ENERGY HEALING AND THERAPEUTIC TOUCH 165 HERBS AND AROMATHERAPY: NATURE FOR WOMEN, AND WOMEN’S NATURE 167 CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME: FRUSTRATION WITH MAINSTREAM MEDICINE 169 MENOPAUSE: ONGOING CONTROVERSY 171 CONCLUSION 176 INSIDE-OUT 179 SEEKING ALTERNATIVES: WOMEN’S HEALTH MOVEMENTS IN LATE-TWENTIETH-CENTURY CANADA 180 WOMEN’S WORK FOR WOMEN’S NEEDS: THE HISTORY OF WOMEN AND HEALTH IN TORONTO 186 CONCLUSION: OFFERING ALTERNATIVES 190 A QUIET MOVEMENT 193 THE ORISHA AND THEIR DEVOTEES 193 RECLAIMING THE YORUBA GODS: EMPOWERMENT FROM AFRICAIN THE UNITED STATES 195 ALAAFIA: HOLISM AND HEALING 199 A QUIET MOVEMENT: CONSIDERATIONS OF POLITICS AND HEALING 201 THE POLITICS AND POETICS OF “MAGAZINE MEDICINE” 204 THE PRINT LENS 204 AYURVEDA IN PRINT: A BRIEF HISTORY 208 THE LANGUAGE OF ORIENTALISM: CHRONOLOGY AND CHANGE 210 IMAGINING INDIA 212 NEW AGE ORIENTALISM 213 MAPPING AYURVEDIC CONSUMPTION: A SYNCHRONIC ANALYSIS 214 EASTERN HOLISM 215 NEW AGE RATIONALITY 217 SACRED COMMERCE AND PROSPERITY CONSCIOUSNESS 219 NATURAL WOMEN AND DOMESTIC CULTURE 221 REJUVENATION TONICS AND LONGEVITY 223 CAM CANCER THERAPIES IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY NORTH AMERICA 226 CLINICIAN-BASED NETWORKS 227 THE EMERGENCE OF A CAM SOCIAL MOVEMENT 232 THE POLITICS OF INTEGRATION 236 CONCLUSIONS 237 BEYOND THE CULTURE WARS 239 HISTORICAL CONTEXT 239 THE TRANSFORMATION OF IDENTITIES 242 THE POLITICS OF ALTERNATIVE HEALTH 247 CONCLUSION 250 CONCLUSIONS 251 CONTEMPORARY ANTI-VACCINATION MOVEMENTS IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE 252 THE LONG HISTORY OF NORTH AMERICAN ANTI-VACCINATION MOVEMENTS 253 THE CURRENT ERA: THE ORIGINS OF DISSATISFIED PARENTS TOGETHER 256 VACCINE SKEPTICISM HITS THE BIG TIME IN THE MEDIA AND IN THE CULTURAL ESTABLISHMENT 259 THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE NATIONAL VACCINE INFORMATION CENTER 263 DAWN RICHARDSON 267 FROM ANTI-VACCINATIONISM TO VACCINE SAFETY ADVOCACY 269 THE OUTSIDE EDGE OF THE MOVEMENT: ANTHRAX-NO 272 THE RETURN OF THE REPRESSED: SMALLPOX VACCINATION TAKES CENTER STAGE IN AN AGE OF HOMELAND SECURITY 275 CONCLUSION: THE POSSIBILITIES OF DIALOGUE AND A DEMOCRATIC MEDICINE 277 FROM CULTISM TO CAM 280 CONTRIBUTORS 298 NOTES 301 Introduction 301 Negotiating Dissent 303 Making Friends for “Pure” Homeopathy 307 Revisiting the “Golden Age” of Regular Medicine 311 Science and the Shadow of Ideology in the American Health Foods Movement, 1930s–1960s 315 “Voodoo Death” 320 Western Medicine and Navajo Healing 324 Sister Kenny Goes to Washington 326 The Lunatic Fringe Strikes Back 333 “Not a So-Called Democracy” 335 Engendering Alternatives 340 Inside-Out 346 A Quiet Movement 348 The Politics and Poetics of “Magazine Medicine” 351 CAM Cancer Therapies in Twentieth-Century North America 354 Beyond the Culture Wars 357 Contemporary Anti-Vaccination Movements in Historical Perspective 359 From Cultism to CAM 367 INDEX 372 Introduction : The Politics Of Healing / Robert D. Johnston-- Negotiating Dissent : Homeopathy And Anti-vaccinationism At The Turn Of The Twentieth Century / Nadav Davidovitch -- Making Friends For Pure Homeopathy : Hahnemannians And The Twentieth-century Preservation And Transformation Of Homeopathy / Anne Taylor Kirschmann -- Revisiting The Golden Age Of Regular Medicine : The Politics Of Alternative Cancer Care In Canada, 1900-1950 / Barbara Clow -- Science And The Shadow Of Ideology In The American Health Foods Movement, 1930s-1960s / Michael Ackerman. Voodoo Death : Fantasy, Excitement, And The Untenable Boundaries Of Biomedical Science / Otniel E. Dror -- Western Medicine And Navajo Healing : Conflict And Compromise / Wade Davies -- Sister Kenny Goes To Washington : Polio, Populism, And Medical Politics In Postwar America / Naomi Rogers -- The Lunatic Fringe Strikes Back : Conservative Opposition To The Alaska Mental Health Bill Of 1956 / Michelle M. Nickerson -- Not A So-called Democracy : Anti-fluoridationists And The Fight Over Drinking Water / Gretchen Ann Reilly. Engendering Alternatives : Women's Health Care Choices And Feminist Medical Rebellions / Amy Sue Bix -- Inside-out : Holism And History In Toronto's Women's Health Movements / Georgina Feldberg -- A Quiet Movement : Orisha And The Healing Of People, Spirit, History, And Community / Velana Huntington -- The Politics And Poetics Of Magazine Medicine : New Age Ayurveda In The Print Media / Sita Reddy -- Cam Cancer Therapies In Twentieth Century North America : The Emergence And Growth Of A Social Movement / David J. Hess. Beyond The Culture Wars : The Politics Of Alternative Health / Matthew Schneirov And Jonathan David Geczik -- Contemporary Anti-vaccination Movements In Historical Perspective / Robert D. Johnston -- From Cultism To Cam : Alternative Medicine In The Twentieth Century / James C. Whorton. Robert D. Johnston, Editor. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. 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. A 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 and the history of medicine who discuss issues in this topic. Johnston takes on controversial issues such as alternative treatment for cancer and research funded by pharmaceutical companies; explores the historical roots of anti-vaccination movements; and examines the health food movement