Health and Medical Practice in Iran: Traditional Culture and Modern Medicine (Allopathy Goes Native)

226 Pages·2007·1.386 MB·English

by  Agnes G. Loeffler

H e a l t h H e a l t h
Allopathy is often described as ‘western’ medicine, the antithesis of homeopathy,
yet all medical systems are infused with culture-specific values, ideas and beliefs.
Agnes Loeffler’s insightful and original book investigates how allopathic knowledge, H
theories and practice guidelines come to be understood and applied by practitioners
in a non-western context. Based on research amongst doctors in Iran, Loeffler e
a n d a a n d
describes how the system of allopathic medicine has adapted to local explanations
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of health and disease and to the economic, social and religio-political realities t
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framing contemporary Iranian life and culture. This approach simultaneously T
problematises the view of allopathic medicine as a ‘western’ entity exerting a ra a
hegemonic influence over non-western cultures, and provides a rare glimpse of the dn
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M e d icompclexities of moderan Iranian society l– explori ng the interfaces between culture, iod M e d i c a l
health and the experience of illness. nal M
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‘A thorough, insightful portrayal ... this volume will appeal both to medical
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anthropologists and to people interested in Iranian culture in general, as well ltud
as in modernisation and globalisation in Iran and elsewhere.’ Mary Elaine r
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P r a c tHeglaind, Anthrcopology of the Meiddle East anca P r a c t i c e
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Agnes G. Loeffler is Associate Professor at the Department of Pathology and l
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Laboratory Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public P
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Health. She completed her PhD in Cultural Anthropology at the University of dr
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Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, and received her MD from the same institution. ra
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In addition to her contributions to anthropology, she publishes in the allopathic c
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i n I r amedical fienld, including the co-edited volume Introduction To Human Disease: t i n I r a n
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Pathophysiology For Health Professionals. dc
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Agnes G. Loeffler
Cover design by www.paulsmithdesign.com
Loeffler layout 2.0.indd 1 21/02/2017 13:19
Agnes G. Loeffler is Associate Professor at the Department of Pathology
and Laboratory Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine
and Public Health. She completed her PhD in Cultural Anthropology at
the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, and received her MD from
the same institution. In addition to her contributions to anthropology,
she publishes in the allopathic medical field, including the co-edited
volume Introduction To Human Disease: Pathophysiology For Health
Professionals.
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Health and
Medical Practice
in Iran
Traditional Culture and
Modern Medicine
Agnes G. Loeffler
Loeffler title page.indd 1 16/06/2016 15:03
New paperback edition first published in 2017
by I.B.Tauris & Co. Ltd
London ● New York
www.ibtauris.com
First published in hardback in 2007 by Tauris Academic Studies
An imprint of I.B.Tauris & Co. Ltd
Copyright © Agnes Loeffler, 2007
The right of Agnes Loeffler to be identified as the author of this work has
been asserted by the author in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any
part thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission
of the publisher.
ISBN: 978 1 78076 044 5
A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
A full CIP record is available from the Library of Congress
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: available
Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY
This book is dedicated to
Erika Friedl Loeffler
Diane Gottheil
Aksi Qetrifi
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Contents
Note on Transliteration ix
Acknowledgements xi
Chapter 1
Introduction 1
Chapter 2
The Contexts of Fieldwork 16
.d PART ONE
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vre IRANIAN CONCEPTUALIZATIONS OF HEALTH AND DISEASE
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ap Key Concepts: Nature, Purity and Balance
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oC in Relation to Health 71
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viii HEALTH AND MEDICAL PRACTICE IN IRAN

PART TWO
THE CONTEXTS OF MEDICAL PRACTICE

Chapter 6
The Economic Context of Allopathic Practice 103

Chapter 7
Roots of Authority: Knowledge 122

Chapter 8
The Relationship of `Elm to Medical Practice 142

Chapter 9
Medical Knowledge and Islamic Ideals 159

Chapter 10
Conclusion 175

Endnotes 185
Bibliography 189
Index 205
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Note on Transliteration
The Farsi words and phrases which appear in this text are transliterated
according to the standard of the International Journal of Middle East
Studies. It should be noted, however, that I have transliterated speech
rather than writing: I make no distinction between the various signs for
“s,” “z,” or “t,” nor does the orthography necessarily reflect that of
written Farsi. Also, the transliteration of words common to Arabic-
influenced languages reflects local pronunciation rather than any
conventions of transliteration.
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