Knowledge in the Time of Cholera – The Struggle over American Medicine in the Nineteenth Century

“Owen Whooley has gone after big game! Knowledge in the Time of Cholera is bold and assertive, forcing a reconsideration of the historical and sociological relationships between medicine and science, and providing an impressive analysis of the deeply intertwined development of these two professions.”–Thomas Gieryn “author of Cultural Boundaries of Science: Credibility on the Line”

“There are books on the history of cholera, on the laboratory and scientific networks, and on epistemology and science, but none like this one. Owen Whooley has produced a truly original book, an important intervention in science studies, history of medicine, and nineteenth-century American society and culture.”–Alexandra Minna Stern “author of Eugenic Nation: Faults and Frontiers of Better Breeding in Modern America”

“This is a valuable and interesting book that will be of interest to scholars from many fields. It makes a contribution to cholera studies but, more importantly, it adds new dimensions to the sociological literature on medical professionalisation. Furthermore, Whooley’s conceptualisation of the epistemic contest, elaborated in his concluding chapter, should prove useful in analysing many intellectual debates. I expect we will see it utilised repeatedly by future scholars.”– “Sociology of Health & Illness”

“Whooley provides a sustained attack on traditional narratives of the straight-line upward trajectory of scientific discovery and professionalization of physicians. . . . [This] book is for those who relish academic combat and can delve into notions of epistemology wielded as weapons of control.”– “Health Affairs”