F1212 Medicine, Culture and Globalization (F1212)

Monday 13.30-15.00
Wednesday 13.30-15.00

Overview

This course will explore the role of the body, illness, and healing in a globalizing world.   We will examine the very different cultural conceptions of sickness and healing in different cultures as well as the ways that Western notions of death and suffering have changed over time.   The class will also investigate the enormous health disparities globally, and the ways that these inequalities in access to care have been understood by anthropologists and other scholars.   We will critically examine as well the complex issues involved in new humanitarian efforts of organizations ranging from Doctors Without Borders to the Gates Foundation and World Bank.   There will be a field trip to the Venetian Renaissance hospital of San Giovanni e Paolo.   All films in the syllabus will be viewed in class.

Requirements

There will be two in-class exams, each one covering roughly one-half of the course material.   The first will be on Thursday, October 25; the second on Thursday, December 13.  There will be three pop quizzes during the semester; the quizzes will be about the readings for that particular week (and with only your two highest scores counting in your final grade with the third dropped).  The quizzes will be brief and not ask complicated questions, but you will not do well on them unless you have done the reading for that week in advance.    In addition, each student will be part of study group that will research and lead class discussion about a controversial medical topic. Finally, there will be a 8-10 page paper due on Tuesday, December 11; students will present a synopsis of their paper to the class on that day.  All films mentioned in the syllabus will be viewed in class.