Profs & Pints Baltimore: How Acupuncture Became American

Profs and Pints Baltimore presents: “How Acupuncture Became American,” on an alternative form of medicine’s journey from the margins to the mainstream of our medical system, with Tom Ingegno, former graduate level instructor of East Asian Medicine, former Chair of the Maryland State Board of Acupuncture, and lecturer to universities, healthcare organizations, and government agencies. Acupuncture, once regarded in the United States as mysterious and foreign, now is well-known here as a licensed health profession. How did an unfamiliar Asian medical practice become mainstream health care and recognizable enough to turn up in comedy sketches, animated films, and pop culture? What changed as Americans translated the Asian practice of acupuncture for use here? Learn the strange, surprising story of acupuncture in the United States with Tom Ingegno, 25-year practitioner of East Asian medicine, founder of Charm City Integrative Health, and author of The Cupping Book: Unlocking the Secrets of Ancient Healing. You’ll learn how acupuncture’s journey into American medicine was anything but straightforward. In fact, it ended up taking three very different routes to become widely accepted here. The first was diplomacy and journalism, with its way being paved by New York Times reporter James Reston’s 1971 account of receiving acupuncture after surgery in China, as well as the enormous attention surrounding Richard Nixon’s trip to China in 1972. The second was activism, including acupuncture-based addiction treatment developed at Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx by people associated with the Young Lords, Black Panthers, and the community health movement. The third was via mass culture and professionalization. Americans learned about acupuncture through magazine coverage, television, movies, music, and celebrity use. The nation witnessed the rise of a distinctly American acupuncture profession through the gradual creation of schools, licensing systems, and professional organizations. The talk will end with a quick visual tour of acupuncture in American popular culture. Audience members will be left with a much richer understanding of how health practices come to be accepted. \(Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Bar doors open at 5 pm. The talk starts at 6:30.\) Image: Acupuncture being administered by a U.S. Navy specialist to a service member \(Marine Corps photo\).