Sample NCM PhD Course Syllabus
Revision 06/2015
MW 502 Midwifery Anthropology and Cultures of
the World
(3 Credits)
Course Description:
This course will deepen and broaden the student’s grasp of the differences and
similarities in cultures that inform patterns of power and control in maternal child health
care.
Course Objectives:
Upon completion, the student will be able to:
1. Describe the effect of culture on birth practices
2. Identify power discrepancies between clients and their healthcare providers in
different cultures and across social strata
3. Enrich understanding of the social contexts surrounding birth in a variety of
cultures
4. Discuss the diversity of cultural approaches to maternal child healthcare
throughout the world
Course Requirements:
1. Lecture and Reflections:
Peoples and Cultures of the World, Edward Fischer, PhD, Tulane University, teaching at
Vanderbilt University. Listen to all 24 lectures, and as you listen take notes as you go
along and you will have a good start on your academic paper.
2. Reading:
In addition to the lectures, the student is expected to read 1000 pages from the course
bibliography or preceptor approved books. The 1000 pages of reading are to be taken
from the Bibliography below. For each book you read you will list the author, book
name, place of publication, publisher, year, pages read, and one paragraph annotation
describing the book.
3. Academic Paper:
The student will write a 10-12 page research paper with a bibliography. The research for
this paper should come from the lectures and the readings in the bibliography, and any
other sources that shed light on the chosen topic. This paper should not be a personal
reflection, but report on the research that has been done in this area. Focus on a
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Sample NCM PhD Course Syllabus
Revision 06/2015
geographical area of interest, reflecting on the impact the subject has had on your chosen
area. Choose one from the following:
a. Choose a culture and delve in depth into disparities (economic, social, racial,
educational, etc) that affect maternal child health outcomes
b. Choose a people and describe their history, demographics, ethnic composition,
migration pattern and their social, ethical and religious concerns. Focus on
childbearing practices, including changes in trends during pregnancy, birth,
postpartum and breastfeeding.
c. Describe the area where you live in the context of its demographics and how
this affects midwifery practice in your area. What is the social context of
birth and health care? How does the technocratic model of childbirth affect
culture? What is neglected in this modern culture of childbirth?
The following will be the criteria your preceptor will utilize to evaluate your
work:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
Did the student choose an appropriate topic?
Did the student research the topic widely?
Did the student consider varying positions within the scholarship?
Was the student accurate in the analysis of the research?
Did the student discern points of similarity within the research?
How did the student handle positions they disagreed with?
Did the student avoid filling the paper with personal opinion?
Was the student clear in the presentation?
Did the student utilize appropriate grammar, spelling, etc, for graduate
work?
j. Are you more or less interested in the topic having read the student’s
paper?
5. Special Project:
Interview a person who gave birth in a culture different from your own and write a 3 to 5
page paper. Describe the prenatal care they experienced, the way birth was handled and
her experience of post partum care and infant feeding. Describe how the interviewee felt
about the care she received. Did she feel it was culturally appropriate to her? Reflect on
her experience in light of this course.
Course Grading:
1. Lectures and Reflections
2. Readings
3. Academic Paper
25%
25%
35%
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Sample NCM PhD Course Syllabus
4. Special Project
Total:
Revision 06/2015
15%
100%
Bibliography
Stone, Pamela,and Selin, Helaine, Childbirth Accros Cultures: Ideas and Practices of
Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Postpartum (Science Across Cultures: The History of
Non-Western Society) Springer, 2009
Kingdon, Carol, Sociology for Midwives, Quay Books, 2008
Winkelman, Michael, Culture and Health: Applying Medical Anthropology, JosseyBass, 2008
Davis-Floyd, Robbie, Childbirth and Authoritative Knowledge: Cross-Cultural
Perspectives, University of California Press, 1997
Jordan, Bridgitt, and Davis-Floyd, Robbie, Birth in Four Cultures: A Cross Cultural
Investigation of Childbirth in Yucatan, Holland, Sweden, and the United States,
Waveland Press, 1992
Block, Jennifer, Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity
Care, Da Capo Press, 2008
Gaskin, Ina May, Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth, Bantam, 2003
Davis-Floyd, Robbie, Birth as An American Right of Passage, University of California
Press, 2004
Davis, Elizabeth, Heart and Hands: A Midwife’s Guide to Pregnancy and Birth, Celestial
Arts, 2004
Mitford, Jessica,The American Way of Birth, Diane Publishing Company, 1999
Arms, Suzanne, Immaculate Deception II, Myth, Magic and Birth, Celestial Arts, 1995
Taylor, Catherine, Giving Birth, A Journey Into the World of Mothers and Midwives,
Perigree Trade, 2002
Armstrong, Penny, Feldman, Sheryl, and Kitzinger, Sheila, A Wise Birth: Bringing
Together the Best of Natural Childbirth and Modern Medicine, Pinter & Martin, LTD,
2007
Rich, Adrienne, Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution, Virago
Press, 1977
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Sample NCM PhD Course Syllabus
Revision 06/2015
Buss, Fran, La Partera: Story of a Midwife, University of Michigan Press, 2001
Smith, Margaret, Listen to Me Good: The Story of An Alabama Midwife, Ohio State
University Press, 1996
Holloway, Kris, Monique and the Mango Rains: Two Years With a Midwife in Maui,
Waveland Press, 2006
Logan, Oni Lee, as told to Katherine Clark, Motherwit; An Alabama Midwife’s Story,
Plume, 1991
Bovard, Wendy, Why Not Me? The Story of Gladys Milton, Midwife, Book Publishing
Company (TN) 1993
Smith, Karen, Orlean Puckett: The Life of a Mountain Midwife, 1844 to 1939, Parkway
Publishers, 2003
Armstrong, Penny, and Feldman, Sheryl, A Midwife’s Story, Pinter and Martin LTD,
2007
Kitzinger, Sheila, The Politics of Birth, Books for Midwives, 2005
Lake Ricki, and Epstien, Abbey, Your Best Birth: Know All Your Options, Discover the
Natural Choices, And Take Back the Birth Experience, Wellness Central, 2009
Hillier, Dawn, Childbirth in the Global Village. Routledge 2003
Squire, Caroline. The Social Context of Birth. Radcliffe Publishing 2009
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