University Curriculum Committee
Proposal for Course Change
1. Is this course a Diversity or
Liberal Studies Course?
Liberal Studies
2. Course change effective beginning of what term and year?
(ex. Spring 2008, Summer 2008) See effective dates calendar.
3. College
SBS
5. Current course subject/catalog number
Diversity
Both
N/A
You may need to right-click boxes to check/uncheck→Then select ”Properties”
Fall 2011
4. Academic Unit/Department Anthropology
ANT 580
6. Current catalog title, course description and
units. (Cut and paste from current on-line
academic catalog)
/www4.nau.edu/aio/AcademicCatalog/academiccatalogs.htm
ANT 580 MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY (3)
Advanced concepts and methods in the crosscultural study of illness, healers, epidemiology,
and the political economy of health and their
impact in public health. Cross-listed with HP
580. Letter grade only
Course ID 000397
Show the proposed changes in this column. Please
BOLD the changes, to differentiate from what is not
changing. Use “strikethrough” to indicate what is being
deleted. To do this, format the bolding and
strikethroughs before you paste the text into the field.
ANT 580 MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Cross-listed with HP 580. Letter grade only
7. Is this course required or an elective in any other plan (major, minor, certificate)?
Revised 10/10
(3)
Advanced concepts and methods in the crosscultural study of illness, healers,
epidemiology, and the political economy of
health and their impact in public health.
An introduction to the subfield of medical
anthropology. Emphasis is placed on examining
the intersections of culture, health, and disease.
Topics include illness experiences, biocultural
perspectives, evolution and health, politicaleconomic and social determinates of health,
global health, and the application of
anthropological methods to studying health and
disease.
Yes
No
If yes, explain and provide supporting documentation from the affected departments.
From: Stephen E Palmer
Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2011 7:32 AM
To: Aaron Renfrew Denham
Subject: RE: Class Cross Listing
Hello Aaron,
I don't see any problems with this and our department will support your co-convening courses, and this does
not impact our HS 580 course which hasn't been offered in a while. Good luck!
Let me know if this email isn't sufficient for a support memo to accompany your proposal.
Steve Palmer, Ph.D.
Associate Professor & Chair
Department of Health Sciences
Northern Arizona University
PO Box 15095
Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5095
Phone: (928) 523-6164
Fax: (928) 523-0148
-----Original Message----From: Aaron Renfrew Denham
Sent: Monday, January 24, 2011 4:26 PM
To: Stephen E Palmer
Subject: Class Cross Listing
Hello Steve, this is Aaron Denham in the Anthropology Department. We are in the process of "cleaning" up
and consolidating our course offerings. I am currently generating the paperwork necessary to co-convene
ANT 480 Medical Anthropology with ANT 580 (the Medical Anthropology graduate section). I realized that
ANT 580 is cross listed with HP 580. I wanted to contact you to check to see if you foresee any
issues/problems with our Department co-convening ANT 480 with 580..
8. Does this change affect community college articulation?
Yes
No
If yes, explain how in the justification and provide supporting documentation from the affected
institutions.
Is the course a Common Course as defined by your Articulation Task Force?
If yes, has the change been approved by the Articulation Task Force?
Yes
Yes
No
No
If this course has been listed in the Course Equivalency Guide, should that listing
Be:
left as is
or
be revised
If revised, how should it be revised?
IN THE FOLLOWING SECTION, COMPLETE ONLY WHAT IS CHANGING
CURRENT
PROPOSED
Current course subject/catalog number ANT 580
Proposed course subject/catalog number
Current number of units/credits 3
Proposed number of units/credits
Current Course Fee
Revised 10/10
Yes
No
If subject or catalog # change, what to do with course fee:
Move
or Delete
Current Grading Option*
Letter Grade
Pass/Fail
or
Both
Proposed Grading Option*
Letter Grade
Pass/Fail
or Both
Current Repeat for additional Units
Proposed Repeat for additional Units
Current Max number of units
Proposed Max number of units
Current Prerequisite
none
Proposed Prerequisite
Current Co-requisite
none
Proposed Co-requisite
Current Co-Convene with
none
Proposed Co-Convene with
ANT 480
Current Cross List with
HP 580
Proposed Cross List with
9. Do you want to remove this course from either the Liberal Studies Course list and/or
the Diversity Course list?
Liberal Studies list
Diversity list
10. Justification for course change. Please indicate how past assessments of student learning
prompted the proposed changes.
This is a request to permanently co-convene ANT 480 (Medical Anthropology) with ANT 580
(Medical Anthropology). This ensures that both graduate and advanced undergraduate students
have the opportunity to take this important elective. This change optimizes the use of our faculty
time/resources.
11. Person(s) to contact for questions about details of this proposal:
Aaron Denham
aaron.denham@nau.edu
12. Approvals
Signed: Department Chair (if appropriate)
Print Last Name
Date
Signed: Chair of College Curriculum Committee
Print Last Name
Date
Signed: Dean of College
Print Last Name
Date
Signed: Curriculum Process Associate
Print Last Name
Date
For Committee’s use only
For University Curriculum Committee
Action taken:
Revised 10/10
Approved as submitted
Date
Approved as modified
Northern Arizona University
College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Department of Anthropology
COURSE SYLLABUS
Anthropology 580: Medical Anthropology
Fall 2011, Tuesday & Thursday 2:20-3:35pm
3 credits
Dr. Aaron Denham
Email: aaron.denham@nau.edu (This is my preferred email, do not use Vista)
Phone: 928-523-9656
Office Location: Building 98D, Room 101A
Office Hours: W: 10:30-12:30 (in Rm 101A, Bld 98D)
I am also available by appointment
Course Prerequisites: Graduate student status
Course Description and Learning Objectives
How do anthropologists investigate and respond to the study of pain, illness, suffering, and healing in a variety
of sociocultural contexts? How do different medical systems define health and illness, and how do they treat
categories of disease? What happens when western medicine confronts folk understandings of illness in such a
way that the two completely clash? How do we define what is biologically “natural?”
This course introduces the subfield of medical anthropology, familiarizing students with the anthropological
perspectives on both individual and group experiences of health and healing, sickness and wellness, and their
sociocultural, environmental, and political-economic dimensions. Specific objectives and discussions will
include an investigation into the assumptions of biomedicine, the elicitation and interpretation of the subjective
experience of illness, an exploration of the ways in which health and illness are socially and culturally
constructed, the role of healers within society, the political and social determinates of health, and evolutionary
perspectives on health.
Graduate students will be expected to apply these core themes in medical anthropology to a final paper related
to their research and applied interests. Graduate students will take an active role in presenting their final paper
and additional materials to the class and will also be held to higher standards in terms of quality and innovation
in their work. Graduate readings assignments are also more substantial than undergraduate. Graduate students
will partner with and mentor undergraduate students during three in-class projects. Finally, graduate students
will be responsible for weekly response papers.
Course Organization:
Each session will consist of a lecture and seminar style class discussion of readings, films, lectures, and other
materials. Class attendance, reading, and active participation are required.
Required Readings:
Revised 10/10
1) Brown, Understanding and Applying Medical Anthropology, 2nd edition
2) On-Line chapters and articles posted to Vista
3) Fadiman, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
4) Dettwyler, Dancing Skeletons
5) Additional readings tailored to the needs and interests of the graduate students will
be assigned each week (in addition to the additional readings indicated on this
syllabus)
Evaluation of Grade
There are 470 points possible for the class. Your grade is based upon the following:
1. 10 Response Papers:
200 pts (20pts each)
2. Illness Experience Project:
120 pts
3. Paper and presentation:
100 pts
4. Participation and other assignments
50pts
Grading Scale
A = 90-100%
B = 80-89.9%
C=70-79.9%
D=60-69.9%
F=0-59.9%
Weekly Response Papers
Students will write a 1-2 page response (single spaced) to the weekly readings. The paper is due on Tuesdays.
You must submit 10 papers out of the 11 opportunities to submit (asterisks next to each week in the schedule
indicate the weeks you may submit papers). Your response paper should take the form that you find the most
appropriate to your style and interests. For example, discussions, questions, readings, and other materials from
the previous week can be expanded upon in relation to the current readings. You can focus on a particular
theme of interest or summarize and discuss the themes and their relationships more broadly. You might also
decide to argue with a particular point or author; however these arguments need to be substantiated and not
self-aggrandizing put-downs or useless bluster. It is helpful to think of these as an extended on-going
questioning with the readings, instructor, and class. Your response should also provide an intellectual bridge
between what you see as the direction of the week and your own direction and goals (at that moment or in the
larger picture). Ideally, through these response papers you will find a way of making sense of the class and
connect it to something that you are interested in (or didn’t know you were interested in).
At the end of your paper, include 2 or 3 thought provoking questions for class discussion. Be prepared to
present these questions. Finally, your active participation in the class is required. All students are potential
discussants of earlier and current topics.
Illness Experience Project
Students will be required to identify a willing individual (friend, family member, neighbor) to interview
regarding his or her experience with a chronic disease (heart failure, diabetes, arthritis) or an equivocal illness
(environmental sensitivity, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia). At the completion of the interview(s), students will
transcribe the interview(s) and write an interpretive analysis of the illness narrative with the goals of the course
in mind. Specifically, each analysis will discuss how the illness has affected the person’s everyday life and
perspective. It will include their explanatory model of the illness and an analysis of the contextual elements
(political-economic, cultural, environmental) influencing their illness experience. We will discuss the specific
details during class, such as what types of questions to ask, the analytical and interpretive frame, ethics, and
your personal experiences with this project.
Participation
Although we will have periodic lectures, a significant portion of the course is organized around discussion of the
readings and the broader themes highlighted by course materials. It is therefore essential that you do the
assigned readings before every class, consider what you would like to contribute to the discussions, and
participate. Do not miss more than two classes without a legitimate excuse. Graduate students will be expected
to participate much more than undergraduates. It is expected that you will contribute to readings and take on a
leadership role in classroom and group activities.
Paper
You will prepare a brief (10-15 min) presentation and write a short paper (roughly 10-14 pages) on how the
concepts, theories, and methods in medical anthropology relate to your anthropological interests and research.
Revised 10/10
This assignment is designed to contribute to the development and broadening of your own interests and
research.
Referencing Style
I require the American Anthropological Association referencing style. The guidelines are at:
http://www.aaanet.org/pubs/style_guide.htm
Advice for Success
*This course requires a significant commitment to reading. Do the readings before class and take notes on the
key concepts of the reading to help you remember and contribute to discussions.
*Engage in active note taking. That is, do not just simply write down everything I say verbatim, but summarize
and place it in your own words. Write down questions that come to your mind and connections between the
lecture content, readings, and your own experiences.
*PowerPoint slides are not complete class content, but merely supplement what we discuss in class. Thus, take
notes that go beyond PowerPoint content.
*Please see me if you have any questions or need any help (on topics both in and outside of this class) and if you
need suggestions on note taking, studying, etc.
Course Policies
*Students are responsible for obtaining class notes for any sessions missed. I do not supply class notes.
*Videos are not available for additional screenings and cannot be loaned out.
*Late assignments are not accepted, missed challenges cannot be made up, and extensions are not given except
in exceptional circumstances and when accompanied by written documentation.
*There will be no extra credit opportunities.
*Cell phones must be disabled during class. If you are expecting a phone call due to a family emergency, let me
know before class.
*Laptops are permitted; however, internet use during class is prohibited.
*I believe in creating a classroom environment where students can feel open to discuss their beliefs and
experiences. Respect for fellow students is essential. Plagiarism and cheating will not be tolerated and will
result in a grade of F for the assignment and/or course.
Course Outline
Please note that the reading schedule can be adjusted at anytime to fit the needs of the class. Updates will be
announced in class and updated on Vista. “Ch” refers to the chapter in the Brown text. Other readings are
available on Vista. Additional graduate student readings (to be decided) will be assigned each week.
Week 1: August 31, September 2
Introduction
What is medical anthropology?
How did medical anthropology arise?
What are the key approaches/perspectives in medical anthropology?
Readings (for Sept 2):
-Ch 1: Medical Anthropology: An Introduction to the Fields
-Ch 12: Disease Etiologies in Non-Western Medical Systems
-Anthropological Perspectives on Health and Disease
-Introduction: Anthropology of Health and Healing
Week 2: September 7, 9
Anthropological perspectives on Biomedicine I and Healing
What is ethnomedicine? How do people understand the cause of illness?
What does biomedicine tell us about our culture?
Readings
-Critical Perspectives on the Biomedical Model
Revised 10/10
-Ch 30: Anthropology and the Word of Physicians
-Ch 32: Confronting “Culture” in Medicine’s “Culture of No Culture”
-Ch 41: Medical Metaphors of Women’s Bodies
-Biomedicine and the Scientific Approach
Week 3: September 14, 16
Anthropological perspectives on Biomedicine and Healing II
A clash of culture: Is it possible to integrate biomedical and local healing traditions?
What are the challenges of using biomedicine in “traditional” contexts?
Readings
-Sacred Healing and Biomedicine Compared
-The Role of Beliefs and Customs in Sanitation Programs
-The Sprit Catches You Ch 1-5
-Models of the Body, Self, and Human Experience
Week 4: September 21, 23
Belief, Healers, and Healing Practices
How do healers heal? What role do symbols and ritual play in the healing process?
What role do constructs like “belief” and “rationality” play?
Readings
-Ch 13: Transcendental Medication
-Ch 15: The Sorcerer and His Magic
-Ch 16: Doctors and Patients
-Ch 17: The Nocebo Phenomenon
-The Spirit Catches You Ch 6-9
-Witchcraft, Oracles, and Magic Among the Azande
-Metaphor, Labeling Theory, and Placebo Effect
-Calling on Spirits: Shamans, Sorcerer, and Mediums
Week 5: September 28, 30
The Illness Experience I: Illness Narratives
How do people talk about their illness experiences?
How do we understand illness narratives? How do people use narratives to create meaning?
Readings
-Ch 19: Strategic Suffering: Illness Narratives as Social Empowerment…
-Narrative as a Construct and Construction
-The Concept of Therapeutic Emplotment
-Myths/Histories/Lives
-The Spirit Catches You Ch 10-14
-Emergent Narratives
-Cultural Knowledge as Resource in Illness Narratives
Week 6: October 5, 7
The Illness Experience II: Explanatory Models
How do people understand their illness and what questions can we ask to better “access” a person’s
illness experience?
How do we analyze a person’s illness narrative?
Readings
-Ch 28: Ethnomedical Beliefs and Patient Adherence to a Treatment Regimen
-Ch 29: Health Beliefs and Compliance
-Ch 33: Anthropology in the Clinic: Cultural competency and how to fix it
-Conflicting Explanatory Models in the Care of the Chronically Ill
Revised 10/10
-Patients and Healers in the Context of Culture (carefully read 104-118)
-The Spirit Catches You Ch 15-19 (finish by Thursday)
-Anthropologies of Illness and Sickness
Week 7: October 12, 14
The Social and Cultural Construction of Illness
How is our experience of illness and suffering shaped by culture?
How are illnesses “created” by society and how does this impact our experience?
Readings
-What is a Psychiatric Diagnosis?
-How medicine constructs its objects
-Ch 18: Learning to Be a Leper
-Constructing Gender: The Body in the Social Context
Week 8: October 19, 21
Transcultural Psychiatry and Culture Bound Disorders
How do psychiatric disorders differ in other cultures? Are there psych disorders that are universal?
What is a culture bound disorder? Is this a worthwhile categorization?
Readings
-Ch 26: The Epidemiology of a Folk Illness: Susto in Hispanic America
-The Culture Bound Aboriginal
-Visible Saints
-Do some illnesses exist only among members of a particular culture? The Case of Phii Pob
-Ch 25: Do Psychiatric Disorders Differ in Different Cultures?
-The Psychobiology of Health and Healing
Week 9: October 26, 28
Evolutionary and Historical Perspectives on Health
How can evolutionary perspectives explain our current health challenges?
Historically, what were the common illnesses humans experienced?
What might the future illness be?
Readings
-Ch 2: Stone Agers in the Fast Lane
-Ch 3: How is Darwinian Medicine Useful?
-Ch 7: Health and Disease in Prehistoric Populations in Transition
-Evolutionary Health Promotion
-Historical Perspectives on Infectious Disease in Human Populations
Week 10: November 2, 4
Global Health and Political Ecologies of Disease I
What is the political ecology of disease?
What are the health challenges facing people around the globe? How is medical anthropology applied
in global health programs?
What role do power relationships and global politics play in global health?
Readings
-Ch 10: Social inequalities and Emerging Infectious Diseases
-Emerging and Re-remerging Infectious Disease
-Emerging and Resurging Infections: Biocultural Interactions between Humans and Pathogens
-Dettwyler Ch 1-4
Week 11: November 9, (no class Nov 11)
Global Health and Political Ecologies of Disease II
Revised 10/10
Readings
-Ch 47: Ethnomedicine and Oral Rehydration Therapy
-Dettwyler Ch 5-6
-Additional Readings to be Assigned
Week 12: November 16, 18
Social Origins of Disease and Suffering
How can society make you sick or healthy?
What role does “the individual” play in his/her illness experience?
Readings
-The Charity Physician
-Ch 11: Why it is easier to get Drugs than Drug Treatment in the U.S.
-Ch 35: Why does Juan Garcia have a Drinking Problem?
-Pathologies of Power, Ch 1
-Political Economy of Injury/Compassion
Assignments
-Be prepared to discuss your experience project on Tuesday Nov 16
Week 13: November 23, (no class Nov 25)
Informal Presentations of Illness Experience Project (Tuesday)
Social Origins of Disease and Suffering
Readings
-Dettwyler Ch 7-10
Assignments
-Be prepared to discuss your experience project on Tuesday Nov 10
-Illness Experience Project Due Thursday November 23
Week 14: November 30, December 2
Vulnerable Populations and Neglect: Children and the Aged
Readings
-Chasing Spirits: Clarifying the Spirit Child Phenomenon and Infanticide in Northern Ghana
-Ch 43: Culture, Scarcity, and Maternal Thinking
-Ch 44: The Biocultural Approach in Nutritional Anthropology
-Dettwyler Ch 11-14
-Between Humans and Ghosts
Week 15: December 7, 9
Wrap-up & Graduate Student Presentations
Paper Due: Thursday, Dec 16 before noon
NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY
POLICY STATEMENTS
SAFE ENVIRONMENT POLICY
NAU’s Safe Working and Learning Environment Policy seeks to prohibit discrimination and promote the safety of all individuals within
the university. The goal of this policy is to prevent the occurrence of discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, age, national origin,
Revised 10/10
religion, sexual orientation, disability, or veteran status and to prevent sexual harassment, sexual assault or retaliation by anyone at this
university.
You may obtain a copy of this policy from the college dean’s office or from the NAU’s Affirmative Action website
http://www4.nau.edu/diversity/swale.asp. If you have concerns about this policy, it is important that you contact the departmental chair,
dean’s office, the Office of Student Life (928-523-5181), or NAU’s Office of Affirmative Action (928-523-3312).
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
If you have a documented disability, you can arrange for accommodations by contacting Disability Resources (DR) at 5238773 (voice)or 523-6906 (TTY), dr@nau.edu (e-mail)or 928-523-8747 (fax).Students needing academic accommodations
are required to register with DR and provide required disability related documentation. Although you may request an
accommodation at any time, in order for DR to best meet your individual needs, you are urged to register and submit
necessary documentation (www.nau.edu/dr) 8 weeks prior to the time you wish to receive accommodations. DR is strongly
committed to the needs of student with disabilities and the promotion of Universal Design. Concerns or questions related to
the accessibility of programs and facilities at NAU may be brought to the attention of DR or the Office of Affirmative
Action and Equal Opportunity (523-3312).
INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD
Any study involving observation of or interaction with human subjects that originates at NAU—including a course project, report, or
research paper—must be reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) for the protection of human subjects in
research and research-related activities.
The IRB meets monthly. Proposals must be submitted for review at least fifteen working days before the monthly meeting. You should
consult with your course instructor early in the course to ascertain if your project needs to be reviewed by the IRB and/or to secure
information or appropriate forms and procedures for the IRB review. Your instructor and department chair or college dean must sign
the application for approval by the IRB. The IRB categorizes projects into three levels depending on the nature of the project: exempt
from further review, expedited review, or full board review. If the IRB certifies that a project is exempt from further review, you need not
resubmit the project for continuing IRB review as long as there are no modifications in the exempted procedures.
A copy of the IRB Policy and Procedures Manual is available in each department’s administrative office and each college dean’s office or
on their website: http://www.research.nau.edu/vpr/IRB/index.htm. If you have questions, contact the IRB Coordinator in the Office of
the Vice President for Research at 928-523-8288 or 523-4340.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
The university takes an extremely serious view of violations of academic integrity. As members of the academic community, NAU’s
administration, faculty, staff and students are dedicated to promoting an atmosphere of honesty and are committed to maintaining the
academic integrity essential to the education process. Inherent in this commitment is the belief that academic dishonesty in all forms
violates the basic principles of integrity and impedes learning. Students are therefore responsible for conducting themselves in an
academically honest manner.
Individual students and faculty members are responsible for identifying instances of academic dishonesty. Faculty members then
recommend penalties to the department chair or college dean in keeping with the severity of the violation. The complete policy on
academic integrity is in Appendix G of NAU’s Student Handbook http://www4.nau.edu/stulife/handbookdishonesty.htm.
ACADEMIC CONTACT HOUR POLICY
The Arizona Board of Regents Academic Contact Hour Policy (ABOR Handbook, 2-206, Academic Credit) states: “an hour of work is
the equivalent of 50 minutes of class time…at least 15 contact hours of recitation, lecture, discussion, testing or evaluation, seminar, or
colloquium as well as a minimum of 30 hours of student homework is required for each unit of credit.”
SENSITVE COURSE MATERIALS
“University education aims to expand student understanding and awareness. Thus, it necessarily involves engagement with
a wide range of information, ideas, and creative representations. In the course of college studies, students can expect to
encounter—and critically appraise—materials that may differ from and perhaps challenge familiar understandings, ideas,
and beliefs. Students are encouraged to discuss these matters with faculty.”
Revised 10/10