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Medical Anthropology Special Lecture

Latest update: 18 July, 2018 (Wed)

[2017] | [2016] | [2015] | [2014] | [2013]

1. Overview

For international health, especially for cooperation and development, understanding diversified cultural background is crucially important. Any aid without understanding tends to become a kind of cultural invasion, and it may result in tragic outcomes for the local people. This lecture thus outlines the basic concepts and methodologies of medical anthropology, followed by several examples.

2. Plan

The lecture is done in the first semester on Thursday, 13:10-14:40 at GSICS 206.

Since 2014, debates on the several topics has been held, where the basic information is given and the sides are assigned in the end of previous week. After the debate, voting to judge the winner is to be done from the web-form or using a voting sheet, then the next week's topic is explained.

• [12 April 2018] Overview: history of the medical anthropology concept (handout)
• [19 April 2018] What is health? Applied medical anthropology and health care (handout without copyrighted material)
• [26 April 2018] Disease, illness, sickness and the sick role (handout)
• [10 May 2018] Sick role and patient role in detail (handout)
• [17 May 2018] Cultural competence in health care (handout)
• [24 May 2018] No debate, lightening talks by all participants. Cultural systems models (handout)
• [31 May 2018] Debate on "Should we try to change the indigenous people's superstructure including traditional belief or superstition" (handout for medical systems and medical pluralism/syncretism).
• [7 June 2018] Debate on the government control of mass-media and/or internet use as a popular sector of medical systems; Handout for transcultural psychiatry and indigenous psychology (handout)
• [14 June 2018] Debates on responsibility of unhealthy behavior under Japanese cultural normalcy / Handout for traditional herbal medicine (handout)
• [21 June 2018] Debates on the pharmaceutical companies activity hiring "plant hunters" / Medical-ecological approaches to health (handout)
• [28 June 2018] Debates on the possibility of global common moral (handout
• [5 July 2018] (Due to bad weather, no class)
• [12 July 2018] Debates on the social capital (handout1, but the debate theme in this handout is skipped. handout2)
• [19 July 2018] Debates on shamanism (handout, Next week's debates topic: Should physician assisted death be legalized in Japan? See, BMJ commentary, Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci., 1330: 94-100, 2014)
• [26 July 2018] (Debate only)

3. Evaluation

Based on presentation and discussion.

4. Reference

Winkelman M (2009) Culture and Health: Applying Medical Anthropology. Jossey-Bass, John-Wiley and Sons. (Instructor Companion Site)

Debbie Newman, Ben Woolgar, ed. (2014) Pros and Cons: A Debater's Handbook. 19th ed., Routledge.

5. Office hour

For the students of the Graduate School of Health Sciences, Tuesday, 18:00-18:30, at Myodani campus E707. For the students of GSICS, Thusday, 16:40-18:00 at Frontier Building Room 717. Taking appointment is recommended.

6. Message to the students

Done in English.

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