Introduction: reconceptualising complementary and alternative medicine as knowledge production and social transformation

CAM (complementary and alternative medicine) is a controversial topic. In the media, in the doctor's office, in comedy routines, and around dinner party tables, CAM frequently provokes debate, mirth, and even anger. Discussions are often polarised (Gale and McHale 2015): CAM is dismissed as 'quackery' by some, while others ardently defend it based on their own experiences of use.