false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1187672402m/1745408.jpg 693573 2 In 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 Epstein's 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."<br>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 NIH-sponsored 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.<br>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. 679898 1996 Impure Science: AIDS, Activism, and the Politics of Knowledge (Medicine and Society) total:22|5:0|4:1|3:1|2:0|1:0| 22 90 41 1 4 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Apr 20 10:15:24 -0700 2008 Fri Feb 20 09:17:29 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Apr 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Mon Nov 16 23:54:24 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 16 23:54:47 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Tue Oct 27 09:12:11 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 27 09:12:11 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2002 Sun Oct 25 16:43:30 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 25 16:43:30 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Tue Jul 28 18:37:17 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 28 18:37:17 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 13 15:53:58 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 13 15:54:09 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Mon Jul 13 12:30:08 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 13 12:30:08 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Thu May 28 19:57:05 -0700 2009 Thu May 28 19:57:05 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed May 20 12:23:26 -0700 2009 Wed May 20 12:23:26 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Tue May 19 06:35:51 -0700 2009 Tue May 19 06:35:51 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri May 08 23:48:56 -0700 2009 Sat May 09 00:43:19 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Apr 20 11:50:33 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 20 11:50:33 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Mar 02 21:22:50 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 21:22:53 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Thu Jan 22 09:24:24 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 22 09:24:24 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Mon Jan 12 10:12:59 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 12 10:13:09 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sun Jan 11 12:35:05 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 11 12:35:05 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 11 07:32:20 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 11 07:35:00 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sat Jan 03 18:40:54 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 03 18:40:54 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 31 08:59:21 -0800 2008 Wed Jun 10 09:07:13 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sun Nov 16 13:37:12 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 16 13:37:12 -0800 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=1745408