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In 2012, the group 'Friends of Science in Medicine', mostly comprising academic doctors and scientists, lobbied to remove teaching in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) from Australian universities. Seemingly inspired by an earlier UK-based campaign, the group approached vice-chancellors and the media, arguing that CAM degrees promoted 'pseudo-science' and 'quackery'. Although epistemological disputes between biomedicine and CAM are well documented, their emergence in a higher education context is less familiar. This article explores the position-taking of those on each side of the debate, via a thematic analysis of stakeholders' views as reported in news articles and other outlets. Bourdieu's concepts of capital and autonomy are used to sketch out the stakes of the struggle. It is argued that the debate is significant not only for what it reveals about the current status of CAM professions in Australia, but for what it suggests more broadly about legitimate knowledge in the university.

AbstractThe sudden emergence of the discipline 'neuroethics' is an intriguing event from the perspective of the sociologies of medicine, science and bioethics. Despite calls for greater social science engagement with neuroethics, it has so far received little attention. So that sociologists might consider how to engage with the field, and in order to simultaneously contribute towards a sociology of neuroethics, this paper explores neuroethics' disciplinary identity via a critical analysis of literature defining neuroethics' scope and role. Drawing on the sociologies of bioethics and expectations, I argue that in setting the neuroethical agenda, neuroethicists construct expectations about the future of neuroscience. In doing so, they align themselves with neuroscience, rather than maintaining a critical distance. Similar critiques have been made of bioethics, but in its efforts to distinguish itself from bioethics, neuroethics appears to exacerbate many of the attributes which sociologists have found problematic. This reinforces the need for critical social science perspectives to inform neuroethics, and also shows how neuroethics is potentially an interesting area of empirical study for sociology. However, the paper concludes by calling for critical reflexivity in sociology's engagement with neuroethics, in light of recent debates surrounding the relationship between social science, bioethics, bioscience and expectations.

This article attends to the processes through which neuroscience and the neuro are enacted in a specific context: a translational neuroscience research group that was the setting of an ethnographic study. The article therefore provides a close-up perspective on the intersection of neuroscience and translational research. In the scientific setting we studied, the neuro was multiple and irreducible to any particular entity or set of practices across a laboratory and clinical divide. Despite this multiplicity, the group's work was held together through the 'promise of porosity' – that one day there would be translation of lab findings into clinically effective intervention. This promise was embodied in the figure of the Group Leader whose expertise spanned clinical and basic neurosciences. This is theorized in terms of a contrast between cohesion and adhesion in interdisciplinary groupings. We end by speculating on the role of 'vivification' – in our case mediated by the Group Leader – in rendering 'alive' the expectations of interdisciplinary collaboration.

The Handbook of the Sociology of Medical Education provides a contemporary introduction to this classic area of sociology, by examining the social origin and implications of the epistemological, organisational and demographic challenges facing medical education at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Leading sociologists explore topics such as gender, ethnicity, disability, and evidence-based medicine in the context of current international debates over medical curricula

1. Introduction : the prospects of a Bourdieusian sociology / Caragh Brosnan and Steven Threadgold -- 2. Learning with Bourdieu : pedagogy, cosmology and potty training / Greg Noble -- 3. Travelling with Bourdieu : elite schools and the cultureal logics and limits of global mobility / Jane Kenway -- 4. Bourdieu and the future of knowledge in the university / Caragh Brosnan -- 5. Pierre Bourdieu : the state, the englightenment and the Scottish literary field / Bridget Fowler -- 6. Capitalising culture : the political career of a governmental actor / Tony Bennett -- 7. Objects and materials : with, against and beyond Bourdieu / Elizabeth B. Silva -- 8. Hermeneutic Bourdieu / Simon Susen.

Sociology teachers often encounter students studying to be future health professionals; sociology content can assist students to increase their understanding of patients, the social context of health and illness, and the social determinants of health. Engaging these students in sociological thinking can be challenging because of their diverse social locations and their identification with their future profession, which may emphasize clinical competence over broader reflective skills. In this conversation piece, we encourage critical reflection on the assumptions that underpin the teaching of sociology to aspiring health professionals. Through case studies of nursing, medicine, and speech-language pathology, we consider differences in the social locations of students and how sociological ideas are received by these professions. We argue that sociology teachers can assist health professions students to gain more from sociology by understanding these student cohorts and by reflexively considering power relations between teachers and students and between disciplines and professions.

Abstract
From its inception, the social work profession evolved in tandem with public health, and has historically contributed to public health efforts to restore, protect and promote public health principles. In recent times, however, the most prominent role for health-related social work is in hospital-based, multidisciplinary teams. Curiously, scant attention has been paid to the place of social workers' knowledge—their 'epistemic contribution'—within this medical context. This article reports the findings of a scoping review that examined the role and function of social work knowledge in healthcare teams. Thematic analysis of the literature revealed four key themes: (i) a lack of clarity and visibility—'Ok, what is my role?'; (ii) knowledge Hierarchies—'Jack of all trades and master of none'?; (iii) mediator and educator—'Social work is the glue' and (iv) public health principles—'We think big'. Findings show that despite social work's epistemic confidence, and alliance with broader public health principles and aims, its knowledge can be marginalised and excluded within the multidisciplinary team context. The article introduces Fricker's theory of 'Epistemic Injustice' as a novel framework for inquiry into health care teams, and the mobilisation of social work knowledge within them.

Intro -- Series Editors' Preface -- Contents -- Notes on Contributors -- List of Figures -- 1: Introduction: Reconceptualising Complementary and Alternative Medicine as Knowledge Production and Social Transformation -- Introduction -- Current Sociological Understandings of CAM -- Reconceptualising CAM as Knowledge Production and Social Transformation: Engaging with STS -- Boundary Work and Social Worlds Frameworks in the Study of CAM -- CAM and Actor-Network Theory: Exploring Materiality and Relationality -- CAM as Epistemic Object -- Overview of the Volume -- Conclusion -- References -- Part I: Defining CAM: Boundaries Between and Within CAM and Biomedicine -- 2: Evidence-Based Alternative, 'Slanted Eyes' and Electric Circuits: Doing Chinese Medicine in the Post/Socialist Czech Republic -- Medical Acupuncture: Biomedicalising CM During Socialism -- Traditional CM: Cultivating Autonomy and Care with 'Slanted Eyes' -- TCM: Establishing an 'Evidence-Based' Alternative -- Conclusion -- References -- 3: The Incompatibility Between Social Worlds in Complementary and Alternative Medicine: The Case of Therapeutic Touch -- Introduction -- Theoretical and Methodological Issues -- Social Worlds in the Controversy over Therapeutic Touch -- Scepticism -- Medicine -- Nursing Research -- Nursing -- Therapeutic Touch -- Conclusion -- References -- 4: Qigong in Three Social Worlds: National Treasure, Social Signifier, or Breathing Exercise? -- Introduction -- Research Material and Methods -- Qigong as National Treasure -- Qigong as Social Signifier -- Qigong as Breathing Exercise -- Discussion -- References -- Part II: Doing CAM in Different Contexts: Politics, Regulation and Materiality.

AbstractMany families experience a smooth transition from military to civilian life. However, some can face intense challenges and significant disruption to family functioning, including mental health and substance use issues, domestic and family violence, marriage dissatisfaction or family breakdown, and even suicide. While some research has examined these transition experiences of ex‐serving men and women, few studies have focused on their children. Understanding the challenges and opportunities the military–civilian transition poses for young people is crucial if we are to develop effective interventions to meet their needs in the future. This paper reports on findings from a qualitative study that retrospectively explored the experiences of young people from ex‐serving Australian Defence Force families when their parents left the military. Using thematic analyses, three key themes relating to military family dynamics were identified: (i) increased mental health stress, (ii) shifts in family relationships and dynamics, and (iii) domestic violence and maltreatment. These themes are discussed alongside the existing literature, revealing the challenges experienced by young people during the military–civilian transition, but also their innate strengths and resources in coping with this major life event. Implications for the social work profession and for developing effective transition supports for young people from ex‐serving families are considered.