Fluent Bodies

Ayurvedic Remedies for Postcolonial Imbalance

Nonfiction, History, Asian, India, World History, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Anthropology
Cover of the book Fluent Bodies by Jean M. Langford, Duke University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Jean M. Langford ISBN: 9780822384113
Publisher: Duke University Press Publication: October 2, 2002
Imprint: Duke University Press Books Language: English
Author: Jean M. Langford
ISBN: 9780822384113
Publisher: Duke University Press
Publication: October 2, 2002
Imprint: Duke University Press Books
Language: English

Fluent Bodies examines the modernization of the indigenous healing practice, Ayurveda, in India. Combining contemporary ethnography with a study of key historical moments as glimpsed through early-twentieth-century texts, Jean M. Langford argues that as Ayurveda evolved from an eclectic set of healing practices into a sign of Indian national culture, it was reimagined as a healing force not simply for bodily disorders but for colonial and postcolonial ills.
Interweaving theory with narrative, Langford explores the strategies of contemporary practitioners who reconfigure Ayurvedic knowledge through institutions and technologies such as hospitals, anatomy labs, clinical trials, and sonograms. She shows how practitioners appropriate, transform, or circumvent the knowledge practices implicit in these institutions and technologies, destabilizing such categories as medicine, culture, science, symptom, and self, even as they deploy them in clinical practice. Ultimately, this study points to the future of Ayurveda in a transnational era as a remedy not only for the wounds of colonialism but also for an imagined cultural emptiness at the heart of global modernity.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Fluent Bodies examines the modernization of the indigenous healing practice, Ayurveda, in India. Combining contemporary ethnography with a study of key historical moments as glimpsed through early-twentieth-century texts, Jean M. Langford argues that as Ayurveda evolved from an eclectic set of healing practices into a sign of Indian national culture, it was reimagined as a healing force not simply for bodily disorders but for colonial and postcolonial ills.
Interweaving theory with narrative, Langford explores the strategies of contemporary practitioners who reconfigure Ayurvedic knowledge through institutions and technologies such as hospitals, anatomy labs, clinical trials, and sonograms. She shows how practitioners appropriate, transform, or circumvent the knowledge practices implicit in these institutions and technologies, destabilizing such categories as medicine, culture, science, symptom, and self, even as they deploy them in clinical practice. Ultimately, this study points to the future of Ayurveda in a transnational era as a remedy not only for the wounds of colonialism but also for an imagined cultural emptiness at the heart of global modernity.

More books from Duke University Press

Cover of the book Islam and Secularity by Jean M. Langford
Cover of the book Smoldering Ashes by Jean M. Langford
Cover of the book E.T. Culture by Jean M. Langford
Cover of the book Chocolate and Corn Flour by Jean M. Langford
Cover of the book Everynight Life by Jean M. Langford
Cover of the book The Worm in the Wheat by Jean M. Langford
Cover of the book Biological Relatives by Jean M. Langford
Cover of the book Speaking of Flowers by Jean M. Langford
Cover of the book 36 Views of Mount Fuji by Jean M. Langford
Cover of the book After the Imperial Turn by Jean M. Langford
Cover of the book Education in the School of Dreams by Jean M. Langford
Cover of the book Bright Signals by Jean M. Langford
Cover of the book Conversations in Exile by Jean M. Langford
Cover of the book Impossible Desires by Jean M. Langford
Cover of the book Politics, Ideology, and Literary Discourse in Modern China by Jean M. Langford
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy