This course provides an introduction to medical anthropology, the study of how societies approach health and healing. We will examine variations in concepts of health, illness, and becoming and staying well in several parts of the world, including parts of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. We will also look at contemporary "biomedicine" as a cultural entity. We will look at cultural practices that encourage or inhibit disease, the influence of social institutions of health and illness, health and gender, and cross-cultural responses to diseases such as AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. |