Negotiations on a profession : acupuncture in Norway

Abstract

The thesis discusses professionalization processes of acupuncture in Norway, and the negotiations on acupuncture that these processes involve. The implicit perspective of the study is that of jurisdictional disputes within a system of professions. In order to understand professionalization of acupuncture the thesis analyses the historical and situational context for these disputes and negotiations. This includes a case-study of an acupuncturist and her work, the presentation of the establishment of schools and associations, and the relation to other health professions, the government and health policy. In the analysis of the jurisdictional disputes there is a main focus on the knowledge systems of acupuncture and biomedicine. What role does the knowledge systems of acupuncture play in the jurisdictional disputes, and what kind of definitions on acupuncture do these negotiations produce?