Health, Medicine, and Science in Asia

Over the last few decades, the Asian health landscape has undergone profound and dramatic changes. While access to healthcare remains severely unequal from one country to another and within countries, the region as a whole has positioned itself as a world player in the field of health. Asia has become one of the primary destinations for medical and wellness travelers, attracted by specialized hospitals that follow international standards and provide first-class treatments. The Asian pharmaceutical sector is a global competitor, and therapeutic innovation is fueling new domestic healthcare markets. Biotechnology and clinical research are often on par with those in Europe and North America, while Asian traditional medicines have become a central feature of contemporary societies, with a significant proportion of their industrial production aimed at export.

New forms of therapeutic practices, knowledge, and objects have emerged from the encounter between Asian medicine and biomedical science, giving rise to braided concepts, products, and tools, new epistemologies and understandings of the body, alongside revised regulatory schemes. Asian-born pandemics have contributed to redefining global health procedures, principles, and meanings. The parallel evolution of these sectors, coupled with structural transformations, new health policies, technological advancements, and a relatively low-cost workforce, has significantly contributed to the renewal of Asian health services. This has not only modified national health policies and initiatives, but also contributed to reshaping the image of Asia in the realm of science and medicine.

The series is grounded in the social sciences and humanities, and engages scholarship in Anthropology, Science & Technology Studies, Sociology, Geography, and Contemporary History. It also offers a useful foundation for students and researchers in Asian Studies and in general programs across these fields.

This series is actively seeking submissions. Please send proposals to the Series Editor, Laurent Pordié ([email protected]) or the Commissioning Editor, Louise Ingham ([email protected])