Social and Cultural Lives of Immune Systems introduces a provocative new hypothesis in medico-social theory - the theory that immunity and disease are in part socially constituted. It argues that immune systems function not just as biological entities but also as symbolic concepts charged with political significance. Bridging elements of psychology, sociology, body theory, immunology and medical anthropology, twelve papers from leading scholars explain some of the health-hazards of emotional and social pressure, whilst analysing the semiotic and social responses to the imagery of...

Social and Cultural Lives of Immune Systems introduces a provocative new hypothesis in medico-social theory - the theory that immunity and disease are in part socially constituted. It argues that immune systems function not just as biological entities but also as symbolic concepts charged with political significance. Bridging elements of psychology, sociology, body theory, immunology and medical anthropology, twelve papers from leading scholars explain some of the health-hazards of emotional and social pressure, whilst analysing the semiotic and social responses to the imagery of...

This book addresses the traditional perception of symptoms and whether they are physical signs of illness or symbolic and cultural forms of expression. The research presented here examines contemporary psychiatric knowledge, medical anthropology, and the fields of psychiatry/psychology to find answers regarding the interpretation of symptoms. This book also offers critical analyses of Freud, Kraepelin, Foucault, Barthes and Peirce, among others, as part of its critical framework.