DRUG USE, ADDICTION, & CULTURE

Catalog description

What does "addiction" and its treatment look like in different cultures? How do social practices and cultural values shape drug use and addiction? Why do some people become addicted to drugs and others don't? This course examines drug use and addiction cross-culturally. Using anthropological theories and methods, we will explore: definitions of addiction across time and place; drug use and addiction in relation to social inequalities; interventions targeting drug use and the assumptions underlying them; and lived experiences of drug use and addiction. We will also consider the implications of these issues for healthcare, policy, and social justice in the context of contemporary problems such as the rise in opioid overdose in the U.S. (Cross-listed with ANTH 8296 , MEDH 4290 )