In Sickness and in Health: Global Cultures of Health and Healing

Catalog description

Medical Anthropology is the study of how health, illness, and healing are shaped at the intersections of culture, biology, and society. This course provides an anthropological perspective on the social, political, and cultural aspects of health, exploring how different communities around the globe define, experience, and treat illness. We examine a range of topics, including culturally diverse systems of health and healing, subjective experiences and narration of illness, media messages and health, and the culture and politics of biomedicine in the US and abroad. Through case studies and hands-on ethnographic research, students gain an understanding of how health and disease are socially constructed and how medical practices and beliefs vary across different societies. Semester(s) Offered: Fall