UNIVERSITY OF KENT
Module Specification
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The title of the module
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The Department which will be responsible for management of the module
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The Start Date of the Module
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The number of students expected to take the module
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Modules to be withdrawn on the introduction of this proposed module and
Medicinal Plants, Traditional Healing and Drug Discovery (SE575)
Anthropology
January 2007
10-15
consultation with other relevant Departments and Faculties regarding the withdrawal
None
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The level of the module (eg Certificate [C], Intermediate [I], Honours [H] or
Postgraduate [M])
Honours
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The number of credits which the module represents
15 Credits
Note: undergraduate full-time students take modules amounting to 120 credits per year
and postgraduate full-time students take modules amounting to 180 credits per year for
a Masters award
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Which term(s) the module is to be taught in (or other teaching pattern)
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Prerequisite and co-requisite modules
Spring
SE301 or SE302; SE576 Biocultural Perspectives in Medical Anthropology; or the
permission of the director of studies.
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The programmes of study to which the module contributes BSc in Biological
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The intended subject specific learning outcomes and, as appropriate, their
Anthropology, BSc in Anthropology, BSc in Medical Anthropology
relationship to programme learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding of theoretical concerns, methods, and findings of current

theoretical research on medicinal plants (BSc Medical Anthropology LO 12, 19,22, 23,
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24, 25)
An understanding of how and why medicinal plants affect human physiology. (BSc
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Medical Anthropology LO 8, 10, 11, 21)
An understanding of the implications of nature, complexity and richness of human
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diversity and adaptation in health, wellness, illness and death. (BSc Medical
Anthropology LO 10, 12, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
Appreciation for the diverse strategies that humans have developed for dealing with

sickness. (BSc Medical Anthropology LO 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 22, 25)
The interaction of social, cultural and biological aspects of human groups. (BSc Medical

Anthropology LO 1, 8, 12, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
All of these learning outcomes directly relate to the BSc Medical Anthropology
programme’s
Anthropology,
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learning outcomes, and contribute to learning outcomes in the Social
Anthropology and Biological Anthropology programmes.
The intended generic learning outcomes and, as appropriate, their relationship to
programme learning outcomes
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

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and
Critical thinking
Development of writing skills, such as clarity and correct referencing of sources
Development of reading skills
Development of research design skills
Time management and preparation
Organisation of information in a clear way
These learning outcomes will allow students to develop and demonstrate intellectual
subject-specific skills (including critical thinking and argumentation, reasoning and
reflection,
use of
information structuring, analysis and synthesis, application of theory, appropriate
sources, and clarity in thinking) and key transferable skills, including
communication and information technology (e.g., undertaking on-line research, producing
written documents), working with others, problem solving, and self-motivation.
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A synopsis of the curriculum
that
employs chemistry, ecology, biology, pharmacology and anthropology to evaluate and
This module is an introduction to ethnopharmacology, a multidisciplinary field of study
understand the use of plants (and other substances) in non-western medical systems.
While students will be introduced to all of the disciplines involved in ethnopharmacological
research,
materials will
this module will have a heavy anthropological focus. Lecture and reading
body, the ecological
address questions related to the actions of natural products in the human
of non-western medical
and evolutionary basis of medicinal plants use, the epistemology
systems, the efficacy of medicinal plants and the development of
pharmaceuticals based on traditional medicines. Topics discussed in class will provide ideas
and models for student
with interests in anthropology
research projects. This module should appeal to students
and/or medical care/research.
Lecture and seminar topics will include:
Zoopharmacognosy and Human Chemical Ecology
Natural Products Chemistry
Pharmacological Actions of Natural Products
Medical Ethnobotany
The Empirical Basis of Traditional Healing Systems
Methods in Ethnopharmacology
“Holistic” Ethnopharmacology
Factors that Influence the Efficacy of Medicinal Plants
Definitions of Medicine
Ethics, Intellectual Property Rights and Benefits Sharing
Ethnopharmacology, Alternative Medicine and Biomedicine
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Indicative Reading List
Arnason, T., et al. 1980. Maya Medicinal Plants of San Jose Succotz, Belize. Journal
of
Ethnopharmacology 2:345-364.
Balick, M., E. Elisabetsky, and S. Laird, eds. 1996. Medicinal Resources of the Tropical
Forest. New York: Columbia University Press.
Boom, Brian M 1990. Ethics in Ethnopharmacology. In Ethnobiology: Implications and
Applications. Proceedings of the First International Congress of Ethnobiology (Belem,
1988). D.A. Posey and W.L. Overal, eds. Pp. 146-151, Vol. 2. Belem: CNPq- Museu
Goeldi.
Chapman, R. F., and W. F. Blaney 1979. How Animals Perceive Secondary
Compounds. In Herbivores: Their Interaction with Secondary Plant Metabolites.
Rosenthal and Janzen, eds. Pp. 161-199. New York: Academic Press.
Cox, P. A. 1994. The Ethnobotanical Approach to Drug Discovery. In Ethnobotany
and the Search for New Drugs. Ciba Foundation Symposium no. 185. Pp. 25-35.
Chichester: John Wiley and Sons.
Croom, Edward M. 1983. Documenting and Evaluating Herbal Remedies. Economic
Botany 37:13-27.
Davis, E. W., and J. A. Yost 1983. The Ethnomedicine of the Waorani of Amazonian
Ecuador. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 9:273-297.
Der Marderosian, A., and L. E. Liberti 1988. Natural Product Medicine. Philadelphia:
George F. Stickley Co.
Elisabetsky, E. 1991. Sociopolitical, Economical and Ethical Issues in Medicinal Plant
Research. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 32(1-3):235-239.
Etkin, Nina, ed. 1986. Plants in Indigenous Medicine and Diet: Biobehavioral
Approaches. Bedford Hills, NY: Redgrave Publishing Co.
Etkin, Nina L. 1988. Cultural Constructions of Efficacy. In The Context of Medicines
in Developing Countries: Studies in Pharmaceutical Anthropology. VanDerGeest and
Whyte, eds. Pp. 299-327. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Etkin, Nina L. 1993. Anthropological Methods in Ethnopharmacology. Journal of
Ethnopharmacology 38:93-104.
Evans, W. C. 1996. Trease and Evans’ Pharmacognosy. London: WB Saunders
Company Ltd.
Fluck, H. 1954. The Influence of the Soil on the Content of Active Principles in
Medicinal Plants. The Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology 6:153-163.
Fluck, H. 1955. The Influence of Climate on the Active Principles in Medicinal Plants.
The Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology 7:361-383.
Hedberg, Inga 1993. Botanical Methods in Ethnopharmacology and the Need for
Conservation of Medicinal Plants. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 38:121-128.
Huffman, M. A. 1997. Current Evidence for Self-Medication in Primates: A
Multidisciplinary Perspective.
Yearbook of Physical Anthropology 40:171-200.
Jackson, F. L. C. 1991. Secondary Compounds in Plants (Allelochemicals) as
Promotors od Human Biological Variability. Annual Review of Anthropology 20:205-246.
Johns, Timothy 1990. With Bitter Herbs They Shall Eat it: Chemical Ecology and the
Origins of Human Diet and Medicine. Tucson: The University of Arizona Press.
Kalow, W. 1982. Ethnic Differences in Drug Metabolism. Clinical Pharmacokinetics
7:373-400.
King, S. R., T. J. Carlson, and K. Moran 1996. Biological Diversity, Indigenous
Knowledge, Drug
Discovery and Intellectual Property Rights. In Valuing Local Knowledge : Indigenous
People and Intellectual Property Rights. S.B. Brush and D. Stabinsky, eds. Pp. 167-185.
Washington, D.C.: Island Press.
Lipp, Frank J. 1989. Methods for Ethnopharmacological Fieldwork. Journal of
Ethnopharmacology 25:139-150.
Niwa, Yukie, et al. 1991. Why are Natural Plant Medicinal Products Effective in Some
Patients and Not in Others With the Same Disease. Planta Medica 57:299-304.
Phillipson, J. D., and L. A. Anderson 1989. Ethnopharmacology and Western Medicine.
Journal of Ethnopharmacology 25(1):61-72.
Posey, D. A. 1990. Intellectual Property Rights: What is the Position of Ethnobiology?
Journal of Ethnobiology 10(1):93-98.
Rodriguez, E., J. C. Cavin, and J. E. West 1982. The Possible Role of Amazonian
Psychoactive Plants in the Chemotherapy of Parasitic Worms-a Hypothesis. Journal
of Ethnopharmacology 6:303-309.
Shanmugasundaram, Seethapathy, and Shanmugasundaram 1983. Anna Pavala
Sindhooram: An Antiatherosclerotic Indian Drug. Journal of Ethnopharmacology
7:247-65.
Torssell, Kurt 1997. Natural Product Chemistry : A Mechanistic, Biosynthetic, and
Ecological Approach.
Stockholm: Apotekarsocieteten, Swedish Pharma.
Trotter, R., et al. 1983. Ethnography and Bioassay: Combined Methods for a
Preliminary Screening of Home Remedies for Potential Pharmacological Activity.
Journal of Ethnopharmacology 8:113-119.
Vickery, Margaret L., and Brian Vickery 1981. Secondary Plant Metabolism. Baltimore:
University Park Press.
Vogel, H. G. 1991. Similarities Between Various Systems of Traditional Medicine.
Considerations for the Future of Ethnopharmacology. Journal of Ethnopharmacology
35(2):179-190.
Waller, Donald P. 1993. Methods in Ethnopharmacology. Journal of
Ethnopharmacology 38:189-195.
Wrangham, Richard W. 1995. Relationship of Chimpanzee Leaf-Swallowing to a
Tapeworm Infection.
American Journal of Primatology 37:297-303.
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Learning and Teaching Methods, including the nature and number of contact hours
and the total study hours which will be expected of students, and how these
relate to achievement of the intended learning outcomes
Study hours: Study hours: 150 overall, in term time 1 per week in lecture format, 1
per week in seminar/lab format and 8 private study hours per week. All learning
outcomes will be addressed through presentation of relevant material in lectures and
subsequent discussions and/or exercises in seminars.
Lectures will help direct student progress in each of the subject specific learning
outcome by providing an overview of each topic and a synthesis of readings and issues
arising from the instructors’ research together with new results emerging from the
literature.
Seminars will provide a context for developing student experience in the subject specific
learning outcomes, as well as to more generic outcomes including integrating materials,
time management, and experience in critically examining original research papers.
They will also help develop communication and presentation skills.
Readings will expose students to the range and depth of information necessary to
understand the lectures and develop skills in the seminars, as well as the basis for
progression in the degree programme.
Writing an essay and research proposal should help achieve the learning outcomes
of organisation of material in a clear way, critical thinking, integrative understanding
of medical anthropology, experience in integrating materials, development of writing
skills, time management and ability to design a project.
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Assessment methods and how these relate to testing achievement of the intended
learning outcomes
A two hour final examination (60%); will test knowledge of lecture and seminar topics.
will be
A single essay (20%) (2000 words) (essay will be set and marked during module)
designed to measure the quality of analysis and critical thinking deriving from
the module. A
research proposal (20%) (2000 words) will measure the depth of
knowledge in the chosen
a project.
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will be
topic and ability to integrate multi-disciplinary materials and plan
Implications for learning resources, including staff, library, IT and space
A specialist in Medical Anthropology will convene this module. Library and departmental
resources, both textual and electronic, will be regularly reviewed and course handouts
revised on an annual basis with extra purchases made where necessary.
Existing Library and
IT resources are adequate for this module. The widespread
interest of biological anthropology
research group members in aspects of the topics
taught on this course means that, even when the chief convenor is not available, there will
be no trouble in staffing the module. This course
will be taught in the Biology Lab,
Room 31, Chemistry Building on the ground floor, which
AV system.
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has a completely integrated
A statement confirming that, as far as can be reasonably anticipated, the
curriculum, learning and teaching methods and forms of assessment do not
present any non-justifiable disadvantage to students with disabilities.
and
As far as can be reasonably anticipated, the curriculum, learning and teaching methods
forms of assessment do not present any non-justifiable disadvantage to students with
disabilities. With notice suitable provisions, such as producing adapted/enlarged
handouts for people with visual impairment, will be made.
Statement by the Director of Learning and Teaching: "I confirm I have been consulted on the
above module proposal and have given advice on the correct procedures and required content
of module proposals"
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Director of Learning and Teaching
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Date
Statement by the Head of Department: "I confirm that the Department has approved the
introduction of the module and will be responsible for its resourcing"
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Head of Department
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Date