Being a homeopath. Learning and practice in a homeopathic community [Full text]
Ana Maria Borlescu [1]
Abstract: In this In this paper I look at the Romanian homeopathic practice through the conceptual lens of the communities of practice. Through interviews with homeopathic practitioners, I investigate the ways they accumulate and share their specific knowledge. Also, I inquire about some homeopathic practices and concepts, such as the consult and the vital force. Then, I present the way homeopaths combine methods that are specific to their practice with biomedical techniques and procedures in order to obtain a better diagnostic and also how they evaluate the usefulness of homeopathic knowledge in comparison with biomedical knowledge. Although this is a small scale research, it sheds light on the importance of the continuous learning process and knowledge sharing that goes on between homeopathic practitioners. Keywords: Communities of practice, knowledge, learning, homeopathy |
[1] Faculty of Sociology and Social Work, University of Bucharest, ana.borlescu@sas.unibuc.ro