Explorations of a Mind-Traveling Sociologist

by Renée C. Fox, Anne Fadiman (Foreword)

"Explorations of a Mind-Traveling Sociologist" is a book of thematically interconnected ethnographic essays by the internationally esteemed sociologist Renée C. Fox, who employs a participant observer outlook to provide unique insight on such enduring—and pressing—issues as the lived experiences of physicians and patients, including patients who are physically challenged, elderly, mortally ill or beyond the reach of medical care; the origins and consequences of epidemic outbreaks of old and new plague-like infectious diseases that occur and recur, despite the impressive advances of medicine; the concomitants and challenges of aging; the wellsprings, dynamics and significance of medical humanitarian action; engagement with a “beyond borders” world view; the occurrence of national and international events of major moral as well as political and legal import and repercussions; and the meaning and meaningfulness of teaching, exploring, questing and writing. Latently associated with these themes are the author’s social values and social conscience. Composing these essays from a participant observer outlook heightens and enriches the author’s observations over the course of her daily life, enabling her to engage in “mind travel” to places and people she has intimately known in the past and to places she has yearningly hoped to visit but never has.

295 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 15, 2019

Reviews

[Linda Howe Steiger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came across this book of essays in my Univ. of Penn Alumni magazine quite by accident (Fox is an emerita professor of Sociology at UP, former chair of the department). I guess in the midst of the pandemic "mind-traveling" appealed to me. Well, it was a delight to confront his active and interesting mind of a woman closing in on a century of life. The essays mix reflections on aging, getting around (hard with a walker), living alone, etc. with reflections on her long career as a teacher and researcher "in the field". Several very contemporary essays too, very much in sync with my own feelings, although the book was published before the virus flooded across the world. Fox's life long work in medical sociology might sound dry to some, but is in fact a rich and fascinating topic. Next I am going on to read her cultural account of Doctors Without Borders. (PS I read the paperback edition, as it was for some reason much less expensive than the e-version)