Fall 2018 - SA 318 D100
The Anthropology of Medicine (A) (4)
Class Number: 7763
Delivery Method: In Person
Overview
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Course Times + Location:
Sep 4 – Dec 3, 2018: Tue, 1:30–5:20 p.m.
Burnaby
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Instructor:
Michelle Walks
mwalks@sfu.ca
Office: AQ 5079
Office Hours: TU 12:30-13:20
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Prerequisites:
SA 101 or 150 or 201W.
Description
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
Explores the role of biomedicine in society and culture through inquiry into the social and ideological organization of health and healing. Special attention will be paid to how biomedical categories structure experiences of the body, how means of life and death are shaped through medical interventions, and how social relations organize the delivery of biomedical technologies.
COURSE DETAILS:
Biomedicine is the dominant health care system in all western countries and many countries in the global south as well. Medical anthropologists are critical of its dominance, at the same time as they often work alongside biomedical practitioners and assist in knowledge translation in cross-cultural situations worldwide. The course focuses on biomedicine and the medicalization of the body, reproduction, and humanitarianism, concentrating on anthropologists’ engagement with and critique of biomedicine. The course underscores the importance of the anthropological gaze, complete with fieldwork, a holistic approach, cross-cultural comparison, and the aim to understand humans and improve conditions, to highlight the relevance of medical anthropology in today’s transnational world.
Grading
- Participation 20%
- Quizzes 20%
- Mini assignments 10%
- Paper proposal 15%
- Final paper 35%
NOTES:
Grading: Where a final exam is scheduled and you do not write the exam or withdraw from the course before the deadline date, you will be assigned an N grade. Unless otherwise specified on the course outline, all other graded assignments in this course must be completed for a final grade other than N to be assigned.
Academic Dishonesty and Misconduct Policy: The Department of Sociology and Anthropology follows SFU policy in relation to grading practices, grade appeals (Policy T 20.01) and academic dishonesty and misconduct procedures (S10.01‐S10.04). Unless otherwise informed by your instructor in writing, in graded written assignments you must cite the sources you rely on and include a bibliography/list of references, following an instructor-approved citation style. It is the responsibility of students to inform themselves of the content of SFU policies available on the SFU website: http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student.html.
Materials
MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:
Custom Courseware Package [CCW]
REQUIRED READING:
Craven, C. (2010). Pushing for Midwives: Homebirth Mothers and the Reproductive Rights Movement. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
ISBN: 978-1-439902202
Reed, J. C. (2018). Landscapes of Activism: Civil Society, HIV and AIDS Care in Northern Mozambique. Rutgers.
ISBN: 978-0-813596709
Additional readings available through the SFU Library system.
Registrar Notes:
SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://students.sfu.ca/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.
Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS