AANK13510U Medical anthropology, advanced course: Shifting Shapes of Sickness

Volume 2015/2016
Content

Sickness takes on a social form in that people are aware of it, attribute meanings to it, and have expectations about its treatment and prognosis. They practice and experience it in particular ways. This course explores why and how figures of sickness change, and in doing so examines the forces that shape the social existence of health conditions. New sicknesses emerge (HIV, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) and old ones take on new significance (neurasthenia, tuberculosis). Historical events such as disasters and wars form sickness perception and experience (radiation sickness, trauma). Political and economic forces influence consciousness of particular health problems that people link to transformations in life conditions (stress, hypertension). Treatment possibilities (viagra, ritalin) affect understandings of problems (erectile dysfunction, ADHD). Scientific research creates new knowledge about familiar diseases (cervical cancer) and novel technology (sonography) makes visible ’disorders’ hidden in the body (foetal anomalies). The media and marketing by the pharmaceutical industry play a role in changing images of sickness, often in contested ways (depression). In an interconnected world, images of a given sickness transform as they move from one setting to another (diabetes in the US and Indonesia). Taking examples from a variety of societies, we will examine the forces at play in shaping sickness categories and the ways in which people make sickness images relevant to their own situations.

Learning Outcome

By the end of the course students should be able to:

  • Identify different theoretical approaches to shifting shapes of sickness
  • Assess changes in awareness of a given condition using different analytical perspectives
  • Critically consider the consequences for public health policies of such analyses
  • Analyse the interplay between changing sickness figures and subjective experiences
  • Write a set of short papers on transformations in the perceptions and practices of selected diseases and disabilities affecting physical and mental health.

500 pages obligatory reading (available on the course website) + 200 pages chosen by the student

Academic qualifications
This course is a specialized course. Students who have completed a minimum 90 ECTS of anthropological subjects can apply. Documentation is required.
Lectures will be combined with discussions, debates, and case work.
This course is accepted as part of the specialization line in Anthropology of Health.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Class Exercises
  • 7
  • Class Seminar
  • 7
  • Exam
  • 50
  • Lectures
  • 14
  • Preparation
  • 100
  • Project work
  • 32
  • Total
  • 210
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment
Essay.
Length: Min. 21.600 - max. 26.400 keystrokes for an individual essay. For group exams plus an additional min. 6.750 - max. 8.250 keystrokes per extra group member.

The essay assignments can be written individually or in groups of max. 4 people. Read more about the rules for group examinations in the
curriculum.

The examination essay must address a relevant topic from the course and must include literature from the course syllabus.
Aid
All aids allowed
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
There is appointed a second internal assessor to assist with the assessment when the first assessor finds this necessary.
Re-exam

1. re-exam:

A new essay with a revised problem statement must be submitted at the announced date. The students are automatically registered for the 1. re-exam. Please note that the re-exam is an essay even for courses, where the ordinary exam is a portfolio exam.

2. re-exam:

A new essay with a revised problem statement must be submitted at the announced date next semester. The students must sign up for the 2. re-exam.

Criteria for exam assesment

See learning outcome