ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the ways in which arsenicosis is constructed, negotiated and reproduced in a particular sociocultural setting of south-western Bangladesh. It argues that a meticulous phenomenological analysis may be useful to explore the various layers of experiences and different structures of meaning that contribute to socially construct arsenicosis as a reality. A post-structuralist analysis is influenced by the contribution of Arturo Escobar, who argues that development is hegemonic, through which Western countries dominate, control and exploit the so-called Third World countries. James Ferguson defines 'failure' as the 'outcomes of planned social interventions that can end up coming together into powerful constellations of control that were never intended and in some cases never even recognized. According to Brown, social constructionism 'refuses to accept any elements of a structural perspective, in particular the notion that fundamental social structure of society play key roles in health and illness'.
