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Conceptualizing Hybridization

On the Diffusion of Asian Medical Knowledge to Germany

Gunnar Stollberg

University of Bielefeld

Scholars have explored a broad range of topics affected by the dynamics of globalization. The field of ‘medicine’, however, has largely been neglected, even though there is a long history of transcontinental diffusion of medical knowledge. This article aims to analyse the latest episode in medical globalization: the diffusion of Asian medical knowledge to the western world. Twenty-nine semistructured interviews with German medical doctors who are practising either acupuncture or Ayurveda were conducted in order to assess the ways in which the adoption of Asian medicine changes medical practice. As hypothesized about the cultural consequences of globalization, hybridization of a number of orthodox as well as heterodox modes of treatment was most common among participants. The researchers, therefore, attempted to break down the rather vague term ‘hybridization’ into several types of hybridization. Finally, a second look at homogenizing processes in medical globalization was taken.

Key Words: acupuncture • Ayurveda • globalization • heterodox medicine • hybridization

International Sociology, Vol. 19, No. 1, 71-88 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/0268580904040921


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