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Overview""This fascinating and most timely critical medical anthropology study successfully binds two still emergent areas of contemporary anthropological research in the global world: the nature and significant impact of multinational pharmaceutical manufacturers on human social life everywhere, and the contribution of corporations to the fast-paced degradation of our life support system, planet Earth. . . . Focusing on a pharmaceutically-impacted town on the colonized island of Puerto Rico, Dietrich ably demonstrates the value of ethnography carried out in small places in framing the large issues facing humanity."" —Merrill Singer, University of Connecticut The production of pharmaceuticals is among the most profitable industries on the planet. Drug companies produce chemical substances that can save, extend, or substantially improve the quality of human life.However, even as the companies present themselves publicly as health and environmental stewards, their factories are a significant source of air and water pollution--toxic to people and the environment. In Puerto Rico, the pharmaceutical industry is the backbone of the island’s economy: in one small town alone, there are over a dozen drug factories representing five multinationals, the highest concentration per capita of such factories in the world. It is a place where the enforcement of environmental regulations and the public trust they ensure are often violated in the name of economic development. The Drug Company Next Door unites the concerns of critical medical anthropology with those of political ecology, investigating the multi-faceted role of pharmaceutical corporations as polluters, economic providers, and social actors. Rather than simply demonizing the drug companies, the volume explores the dynamics involved in their interactions with the local community and discusses the strategies used by both individuals and community groups to deal with the consequences of pollution. The Drug Company Next Door puts a human face on a growing set of problems for communities around the world. Accessible and engaging, the book encourages readers to think critically about the role of corporations in everyday life, health, and culture. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Alexa S. DietrichPublisher: New York University Press Imprint: New York University Press Dimensions: Width: 15.30cm , Height: 1.80cm , Length: 22.90cm Weight: 0.513kg ISBN: 9780814724996ISBN 10: 081472499 Pages: 251 Publication Date: 07 June 2013 Audience: Professional and scholarly , Professional & Vocational Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: Manufactured on demand  We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier. Table of Contents"Acknowledgments Key Events Timeline for Nocora's Environmental Health List of Acronyms A Note on Pseudonyms Introduction: Understanding PoliticalEcologies of Risk in Puerto Rico Little by Little 1 The Dose Makes the Poison: How Making Drugs Harms Environments and People Progress 2 In the Beginning Was the Corporation: Progress, Pollution, and the Public Trust Playing Politics 3 The Rituals and Consequences of Community Politics and Dissent ""Fresh Minds"" on Parade 4 Environmental Justice Is Not Always Just Good Neighbors (A Conversation) 5 The Pharmaceutical Industry and the Problem of ""Stakeholders"" ""Salud te recomienda"" 6 Radical Redistributions of Knowledge: A Holistic View of Environmental Health Epilogue Appendix Notes Bibliography Index About the Author"ReviewsOffers a compelling and thought-provoking account of the politics of recognition in Nocerenos, Puerto Rico, a municipality where the stench of pollution pervades the air, soil, and water. In Nocerenos, one lives beneath the shadow of one's corporate neighbors, ' an imposing complex of pharmaceutical companies that turns a blind eye to the insidious effects of toxic by-products while boasting of their lucrative trade in health elsewhere. Set against the invisibility of chronic suffering, local grassroots activists must always fight to be seen and heard. Here one encounters a lively cast of people who inhabit an environment both tranquil and contaminated. This is a smart and masterful portrayal of the realities of activism and the power of corporate public relations strategies, a convincing ethnography that integrates medical anthropology and political ecology in expert fashion. Every employee of Big Pharma should be required to read this book. -Lesley A. Sharp, Ann Whitney Olin Professor of Anthropology, Barnard College Author InformationAlexa S. Dietrich is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Wagner College. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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