Anthropology of Health and Healing

This course offers an overview of cross-cultural health, illness and healing practices. Topics covered include cultural interpretations of health and illness, varieties of healing practices, and global health concerns. Students will become acquainted with medical anthropology methods and theories and will learn anthropological approaches to health-related problems, including an examination of the ways social status, cultural meanings and economic inequalities influence health and illness across the globe. The course draws primarily on work from the fields of medical anthropology, but will also turn to more exploratory modes such as memoirs and expressive writing to gain a deeper, more personal understanding of the meaning and experience of health and illness in individual lives.

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