The Pharmaceutical Studies Reader

The Pharmaceutical Studies Reader is an engaging survey of the field that brings together provocative, multi-disciplinary scholarship examining the interplay of medical science, clinical practice, consumerism, and the healthcare marketplace. Draws on anthropological, historical, and sociological approaches to explore the social life of pharmaceuticals with special emphasis on their production, circulation, and consumption Covers topics such as the role of drugs in shaping taxonomies of disease, the evolution of prescribing habits, ethical dimensions of pharmaceuticals, clinical trials, and drug research and marketing in the age of globalization Offers a compelling, contextually-rich treatment of the topic that exposes readers to a variety of approaches, ideas, and frameworks Provides an accessible introduction for readers with no previous background in this area.

Intro -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Chapter 1 Introduction -- Why Study Pharmaceuticals? -- A Prehistory of Pharmaceutical Studies -- Key Themes in Pharmaceutical Studies -- Guide to this Volume -- Notes -- Part I Pharmaceutical Lives -- Chapter 2 The Pharmaceuticalisation of Society? A Framework for Analysis -- Introduction -- Definition, Delineation and Dynamics: What is Pharmaceuticalisation? -- Trends and Transformations -- Discussion -- References -- Chapter 3 Pharmaceutical Witnessing: Drugs for Life in an Era of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising -- Remaking the Body at Risk -- Awareness Through Education -- Personalizing the Risk -- Motivation to Informing Self-diagnosis -- Convincing the Doctor, the Critical Moment -- Branded Compliance -- Conclusion -- Note -- References -- Part II New Drugs, Diseases, and Identities -- Chapter 4 Releasing the Flood Waters: Diuril and the Reshaping of Hypertension -- Introduction -- Diuril in the Life of the Pharmaceutical Firm -- Attachment: Diuril Meets Hypertension -- Clinical Research as a Marketing Arena -- Public Relations and Popular Media -- "Ethical Marketing": The Detail Man and the Diuril Man -…