Chinese Medicine as Boundary Object(s): Examining TCM’s Integration into International Science Through the Case of Australian--Chinese Research Collaboration

Abstract

Despite being defined in the West as alternative medicine and often seen as incommensurable with biomedicine and bioscience, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has, paradoxically, assimilated into dominant spaces of knowledge production and legitimation, such as the International Classification of Diseases. In Australia, TCM comprises a designated area of cooperation with China, and TCM research is carried out in numerous universities by otherwise mainstream scientists. Focusing on the Australian case, we examine how and why TCM has transcended scientific skepticism to become an object of scientific study. Through interviews with Australian TCM researchers (n = 10), we identify aspects of TCM that function as conceptual and material boundary objects, facilitating its uptake in bioscientific disciplines. Furthermore, we locate TCM research in the wider context of Australian-Chinese knowledge exchange, highlighting the role of “coordinating boundary objects,” such as institutional agreements, in enabling scientific work, as well as the supportive role performed by boundary actors who translate across social worlds. By illustrating how these objects/actors enact TCM research in Australia, as well as their interdependence, the paper contributes a deeper understanding of the operation of boundary objects in international scientific collaboration and the factors determining the scientific success of this alternative medicine.