The social construction of medical knowledge

The paper examines some of the ways in which a social constructionist perspective may be useful for social historians of medicine. It outlines the streams of thought that, over the last twenty years or so, have contributed to this perspective. Some of the problems and issues raised by social constructionism are considered. The relationships between the history of science and the history of medicine are discussed in order to clarify the extent to which the latter can and should be modeled on the former. I suggest that social constructionism is useful, partly because it gives weight to ideas, and that there is a potentially fruitful alliance to be considered between the social history of medicine and cultural history.