Before taking ANP 204
I want to start by saying that I really enjoyed the course and everything it had to offer and teach. Before enrolling in ANP 204 I primarily viewed the medical field as a means of medical practitioners diagnosing certain illness and then following up with treatment and steps toward prevention of future illness occurrence. It’s not to say I thought that is all there was to it but I had never been pushed to think the way in which Medical Anthropology requires.
Overview of approaches
It would be hard for me to determine just one approach that brought anthropology into a better understanding for me. I found the biological approach to be very important to the field, in that an anthropologist is able to evaluate environmental stressors and human variations, which changed over time potentially leading to determination of why certain illness has evolved to where it is today (lecture 2.1).
The Ethnomedical approach certainly explains how diverse each culture is that we live in today (lecture 3.1). Before studying this approach I would only be familiar with treatment used in America such as biomedicine, massage therapy, chiropractic, herbology, acupuncture, or psychiatry. However, it turns out that treatment beliefs among different cultures vary more than I could have ever imagined.
I would consider myself to be most familiar with the experimental approach. From that, it may be the most helpful in understanding illness because of how certain studies (primarily quantitative) are able to be tested across majority of and in some cases all cultures (lecture 4.1). So long as anthropologists can identify numbers such as the amount of lost teeth relating to tobacco smokers, they have the ability conduct these studies among large variations of persons and locations.
The Ethnomedical approach certainly explains how diverse each culture is that we live in today (lecture 3.1). Before studying this approach I would only be familiar with treatment used in America such as biomedicine, massage therapy, chiropractic, herbology, acupuncture, or psychiatry. However, it turns out that treatment beliefs among different cultures vary more than I could have ever imagined.
I would consider myself to be most familiar with the experimental approach. From that, it may be the most helpful in understanding illness because of how certain studies (primarily quantitative) are able to be tested across majority of and in some cases all cultures (lecture 4.1). So long as anthropologists can identify numbers such as the amount of lost teeth relating to tobacco smokers, they have the ability conduct these studies among large variations of persons and locations.
Most surprising, helpful, or memorable
I found “Clown Doctors in NYC” to be very bizarre but to clearly work since being founded in 1986 and still around today. I think it would be difficult for a clown doctor to change mood or judge a patients attitude in relation to when they can act goofy based on appropriateness of time. However, given the many precautions that clown doctors must abide by, I find this way to provide relief and a positive attitude to younger children to be something very special for the city of Ney York (L. Miller)
After watching trulife episodes during week 4, I found the experimental approach to be generally helpful in terms of specific narratives as well. I think the idea of getting your problems exposed to the public and seeing how your attitudes and life choices vary based on your illness (e.g. drunkorexic, which is the process of starving your body of food in order to meet caloric diet demands primarily from only alcohol) could be a positive motivator.
After watching trulife episodes during week 4, I found the experimental approach to be generally helpful in terms of specific narratives as well. I think the idea of getting your problems exposed to the public and seeing how your attitudes and life choices vary based on your illness (e.g. drunkorexic, which is the process of starving your body of food in order to meet caloric diet demands primarily from only alcohol) could be a positive motivator.
RECOMMENDATIONS
After researching, I did not find anything worth adding to the course which is not already a part of the course website. I thought there was a planet earth following evolution and the biological approach but could not seem to locate it. However I did enjoy the numerous articles and videos we had access to weekly to complete our reflection, activity, and weekly required assignments.
Describing Medical anthropology
If I were explaining medical anthropology to someone whom was not familiar with the field, I would ensure them that it is more than medical practitioners dealing with pharmaceuticals to heal ill or diseased patients. Medical Anthropology should be looked at from a more culturally diverse viewpoint in examining the ways in which certain cultures or groups of people are influenced by issues in health.
sources
Im Drunkorexic. : MTV True Life , 2014.
Miller, Linda , and Von Blerkom . "Clown Doctors: Shaman Healers of Western Medicine." American Anthropological Association 9: 462-475. (accessed July 30, 2014).
Tazin, Karim. "Lecture 2.1: Ecological and Biological Approaches ." http://anthropology.msu.edu/anp204-us14/schedule/week-2/ (accessed July 16, 2014).
Tazin, Karim. "Lecture 3.1: Ethnomedical Systems. Week 3 Ethnomedical Approach". http://anthropology.msu.edu/anp204-us14/schedule/week-3-lecture-1/ (accessed July 24, 2014)
Tazin, Karim. "Lecture 4.1: Experimental". http://anthropology.msu.edu/anp204-us14/schedule/week-4/ (accessed July 30, 2014)
Miller, Linda , and Von Blerkom . "Clown Doctors: Shaman Healers of Western Medicine." American Anthropological Association 9: 462-475. (accessed July 30, 2014).
Tazin, Karim. "Lecture 2.1: Ecological and Biological Approaches ." http://anthropology.msu.edu/anp204-us14/schedule/week-2/ (accessed July 16, 2014).
Tazin, Karim. "Lecture 3.1: Ethnomedical Systems. Week 3 Ethnomedical Approach". http://anthropology.msu.edu/anp204-us14/schedule/week-3-lecture-1/ (accessed July 24, 2014)
Tazin, Karim. "Lecture 4.1: Experimental". http://anthropology.msu.edu/anp204-us14/schedule/week-4/ (accessed July 30, 2014)