
Dr. James Flowers 張仲民
Zondag / Sunday 7 November | 09:30-10:30
The Potential Role of the Humanities in Bringing Chinese Medicine into the Mainstream (EN)
The Potential Role of the Humanities in Bringing Chinese Medicine into the Mainstream.
In the global context, Chinese Medicine, or East Asian Medicine, remains in a marginalized position. This paper argues that the Chinese Medicine field needs a cadre of humanities-trained scholar-physicians to attempt to break the mold of its marginality in medicine as a whole. Although an increasing number of elite medical institutions have opened Chinese Medicine training and research programs, and an increasing number of patients seek this form of therapy, the field is, at best, tolerated as a complementary adjunct therapy. Such marginalization has come into sharp relief during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Outside of China, no public institutions take Chinese medicine seriously as a beneficial therapy for COVID-19. For at least two decades, Chinese medicine scholars have published many hundreds of scientific articles that present evidence of Chinese medicine’s efficacy. I argue that by limiting arguments to that of science, Chinese medicine scholars have already surrendered to a politically dominant and well-organized biomedical profession. Only by making arguments that speak to a wider audience of thought-leaders, beyond the narrow sciences, can Chinese medicine academics make a persuasive case to explain the social role of medicine. In other words, humanities-trained scholars need to work with the skills of intellectual argument to break down the artificial boundaries that the biomedicine field created to claim the authority of a high church. Such work requires scholars who can explain the history of Chinese medicine’s marginalization to a wider public audience. For example, historical facts show that Chinese medicine, including acupuncture, enjoyed popularity in Europe as early as the seventeenth century. Recovering the actual history can show that biomedical dominance is a recent phenomenon, with its origins in political organization. In short, I argue the need for medical humanities research and writing that can engage a wide audience beyond medical scientists.
About Dr. James Flowers 張仲民
Brain Pool Program Research Fellow (National Research Foundation, Korea), Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, Kyung Hee University. PhD, History of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. MA, International Studies, University of Technology Sydney. Diploma Chinese Medicine, Sydney College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Director, International Society of Oriental Medicine. Former President, Australian Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Association, 2000-2009. His current research focuses on the history of traditional medicine in East Asia in the twentieth century, with a focus on Korea. He has also published work on the history of science in China in the Qing period and his article on the history of Chinese medicine in Australia is forthcoming soon. His articles have been published in Asian Medicine: Tradition and Modernity, Integrative Medicine Research, Social History of Medicine, Journal of Korean Society of Medical History, and Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. He is currently working on his book manuscript on the history of traditional medicine in Korea during Japanese rule 1910-1945. He taught Chinese medicine at University of Western Sydney and the Sydney Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine from 1997-2008. He practiced Chinese Medicine in his private clinic from 1995-2009.