{"product_id":"impure-science-aids-activism-and-the-politics-of-knowledge-volume-7-medicine-and-society-9780520202337","title":"Impure Science: AIDS  Activism  and the Politics of Knowledge (Volume 7) (Medicine and Society)","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn the short  turbulent history of AIDS research and treatment  the boundaries between scientist insiders and lay outsiders have been crisscrossed to a degree never before seen in medical history. Steven Epsteins astute and readable investigation focuses on the critical question of \"how certainty is constructed or deconstructed \" leading us through the views of medical researchers  activists  policy makers  and others to discover how knowledge about AIDS emerges out of what he calls \"credibility struggles.\"  Epstein shows the extent to which AIDS research has been a social and political phenomenon and how the AIDS movement has transformed biomedical research practices through its capacity to garner credibility by novel strategies. Epstein finds that nonscientist AIDS activists have gained enough of a voice in the scientific world to shape NIHsponsored research to a remarkable extent. Because of the blurring of roles and responsibilities  the production of biomedical knowledge about AIDS does not  he says  follow the pathways common to science; indeed  AIDS research can only be understood as a field that is unusually broad  public  and contested. He concludes by analyzing recent moves to democratize biomedicine  arguing that although AIDS activists have set the stage for new challenges to scientific authority  all social movements that seek to democratize expertise face unusual difficulties.  Avoiding polemics and accusations  Epstein provides a benchmark account of the AIDS epidemic to date  one that will be as useful to activists  policy makers  and general readers as to sociologists  physicians  and scientists.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45646937358389,"sku":"ByrdShop_0520202333","price":106.8,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780520202337.jpg?v=1781682313","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/impure-science-aids-activism-and-the-politics-of-knowledge-volume-7-medicine-and-society-9780520202337","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}