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CS92PROD
Care and Suffering
ANTH 113
Fall 2016
Section: 01  
Crosslisting: SISP 113

In this introductory course, we will explore the production and representation of human suffering, in addition to the modes of care deployed by humanitarian and global health actors to alleviate the suffering of others. We will begin by examining how suffering, crisis, and emergency are depicted in popular media. We will then consider how anthropologists approach these same topics from critical and applied perspectives. Toward that end, we will see how suffering is inherently social--inextricably connected to cultural, historical, and political-economic contexts--and how cultural frameworks determine which sufferers are deemed most worthy of care and which interventions should be pursued. Finally, we will examine the limits, challenges, and possibilities of care-giving under conditions of resource scarcity. Taken as a whole, the course will invite students to question the creation and reproduction of health disparities while at the same time critically reflecting on dominant norms and forms of "doing good." As a first-year seminar, this course will also engage students in fostering their skills as academic researchers and writers.
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS ANTH
Course Format: SeminarGrading Mode: Graded
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Requirement for: None
Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available

Last Updated on DEC-02-2024
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