Abstract

Since the turn of the century Singapore has sustained a reputation for both austere governance and cutting-edge biomedical facilities and research. Seeking to emphasize Singapore’s capacity for “modern medicine” and strengthen their burgeoning biopharmaceutical industry, this image has explicitly excluded Chinese medicine – despite its tremendous popularity amongst Singaporeans from all walks of life, and particularly amongst Singapore’s ethnic Chinese majority. This book examines the use and practice of Chinese medicine in Singapore, especially in everyday life, and contributes to anthropological debates regarding the post-colonial intersection of knowledge, identity, and governmentality, and to transnational studies of Chinese medicine as a permeable, plural, and fluid practice.

Arielle A. Smith completed her doctorate and postgraduate teaching in medical anthropology at the University of Oxford (2004-2010). She subsequently taught at the University of Montana (2011-2012) and as traveling faculty for International Honors Program/SIT (2012-2014). Most recently, she conducted postdoctoral research at Cermes3 (a joint unit of CNRS, EHESS, and Inserm) in Paris (2015), and preliminary research on anthropological reflexivity and tribal health/ healing in the USA (2016 to date).

“Lucid and beautifully written… A refreshing look at Chinese medicine and ‘medicine’ more broadly speaking.” · Mei Zhan, University of California, Irvine