Mapping the Sociology of Health and Medicine

This book is a study of disciplines and their specialities. It poses sociological questions about the formation of intellectual fields and their social relations, and offers an in-depth, historical study of one of the largest specialities of the discipline of sociology - the sociology of health and medicine - across three countries: the United States of America, Britain and Australia. Employing a radical new theory of disciplines, this book reveals unexpected connections between the ideas of sociologists and the context they work within. It answers questions about where they work, who they cite and collaborate with, and highlights distinct differences in the practice of sociology from one country to the next. In doing so, this book offers evidence of the effects of sweeping changes to the university sector and the global publishing industry on the working lives of sociologists, not least the impact of commercial research sponsorship on the knowledge they produce.