Medical Anthropology: ANTH 306

Fall 2008/ Minnesota State University Moorhead
Tuesday & Thursday 3:00-4:15 PM, KH 115
Instructor: Dr. Bruce Roberts
Office: KH 213
Fall 2008 Office hours:
Monday and Wednesday 11:00AM-2:30PM
Tuesday and Thursday 10:30 - 11:30AM; 1:30-2:30PM
Telephone 477-2043
E mail: robertsb@mnstate.edu
Class website: http://www.mnstate.edu/robertsb/306

This course deals with human health, illness and curing. More than any other area of the discipline, medical anthropology covers matters of both biological and cultural concern. By virtue of our physical constitution, all humans experience illness and eventually all humans will die. Moreover, all human societies have developed medical systems that are designed to diagnose and treat illness. In this course we will examine the specific ways that members of different human societies envision health and treat illness and how they are affected by cultural and social circumstances. Thus we will emphasize, from an applied perspective, the cultural and social components of disease etiologies (how diseases are understood causally), the diagnosis and treatment of illnesses, and healthcare access within and across societies. We will conclude by considering the commoditization of health today and the inequitable distribution of disease around the world.

Required Texts

Farmer, Paul
2006    AIDS and Accusation: Haiti and the Geography of Blame. Updated and with a New Preface. Berkeley: University of California Press.
            ISBN 978-0-520-24839-7

Howard, Mary and Ann Millard
1997   Hunger and Shame: Child Malnutrition and Poverty on Mt. Kilimanjaro. Routledge. ISBN: 9780415916141

McElroy, Ann and Patricia K. Townsend (abbreviated M&T below)
2004    Medical Anthropology in Ecological Perspective. Fourth Edition. Boulder: Westview Press. ISBN: 0-8133-3821-2

• Readings: Please do the readings before coming to class. That way the material in lectures will be easier to comprehend and you'll also do better on the quizzes.
  
  
• Attendance and classroom discussion: Attendance is at your discretion. I don't give points just for showing up, nor will I subtract points if you miss class. However, it behooves you to attend class in order to take advantage of both my remarks as well as the comments of others in the class. I encourage you to participate to help make class discussions lively and interesting. In the end I will remember it and use it as one of those intangible elements in my grading.
  
  
• Quizzes: To keep you up to date on the readings I will give you 5 unannounced pop quizzes, each worth 10 points.  They'll probably be short answer format. Make-up quizzes will only be given with excuses that can be validated and you must notify me within 24 hours of the class.
  
  
• Exams: There will be a midterm exam worth 100 points and a cumulative final exam worth 150 points. These exams will be primarily objective format (multiple choice, true-false, matching) with an essay. In addition to the assigned readings from the McElroy and Townsend's text I will also include questions from Hunger and Shame on the midterm and AIDS and Accusation on the final. Make up exams will only be given at my discretion with a verifiable excuse (e.g., medical or vehicular) and provided that you notify me within 24 hours of the exam.
  
  
• Critical Book Reviews: You'll read and critically review the books by Farmer and Howard/Millard. These reviews  must be typed and each will potentially be worth 50 points. The review of Hunger and Shame will be due on October 23 (midterm) and the review of AIDS and Accusation will be due on the last day of class, December 9. Late submissions will be penalized 10 points per day late. If you’re unsure how a critical book review should be done visit the web page for the University of Wisconsin Writing Center or the University of Alberta Libraries
  
  
• Miscellaneous: I reserve the right to slightly modify the point ranges listed below (upward, but not downward) to benefit people who have put forth exemplary effort.
  
  
• Students with disabilities who believe they may need an accommodation in this class are encouraged to contact Greg Toutges, Coordinator of Disability Services at 477-5959 (Voice) or 1-800-627-3529 (MRS/TTY), CMU 114 as soon as possible to ensure that accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.