Asymmetries of Knowledge and Asymmetries of Power: The Lights and Shades of Anthropology in Biomedical Context

Abstract

This chapter explores the power imbalances created by the differing prestige of social and medical sciences, particularly how social scientists can engage with STEM and biomedicine. This issue arises from my fieldwork in France, Italy, and the United Kingdom, focused on the complexities of living with breast cancer through interviews with patients, medical professionals, and family members. What does it mean for anthropologists to navigate different knowledge systems, including anthropological theories, medical expertise, and patients’ insights? This chapter addresses this question by examining key aspects contributing to biomedicine’s perception as an objective science and influencing the ethnographic experience in medical settings. I discuss how scientific language and data presentation reinforce the notion of objectivity in biomedical findings. I also address how the ethnographer’s positionality—such as gender, nationality, or career status—can affect access. This chapter explores how knowledge imbalances can translate into power imbalances and how different hierarchical positions can reinforce these disparities.