Med Anthropol Q. 1996 Mar; 10(1): 29-44.

Practice-building seminars in chiropractic: a Petit Bourgeois response to biomedical domination.

Baer HA.

Department of Sociology and Anthropology University of Arkansas at Little Rock, USA.

As biomedicine evolved into the preserve of upper-class and upper-middle-class physicians, working-class and lower-middle-class individuals turned to chiropractic as a vehicle of upward social mobility. Practice-building seminars constitute a largely overlooked strategy by which many chiropractors have sought to address their marginal status within the U.S. medical system. Using archival and research data, this article discusses the role of these seminars in assisting chiropractors to convince their patients of the efficacy of their treatment modalities, increase their incomes, and bolster their confidence as heterodox medical practitioners.