AANK13510U Medical anthropology, advanced course: Shifting Shapes of Sickness

Volume 2014/2015
Content

Sickness assumes a social figure 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

This course is a specialized course for MSc-students enrolled at the Dept. of Anthropology, University of Copenhagen. Erasmus/exchange- , credit- an Open University students who have a bachelor degree which consists of a minimum of one and a half years (90 ECTS) of anthropological subjects, including introduction to history of anthropological theory and methodology in Anthropology may also apply. Documentation is required.
The course will consist of two hour sessions twice a week. 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
10 ECTS
Type of assessment
Portfolio
Obligatory portfolio assignments: The course lecturer determines the number and length of portfolio assignments. A minimum of 75% thereof will be assessed as the exam. At the end of the course, the lecturer will announce upon which portfolio assignments the assessment will be based.
Exam registration requirements
The student must participate actively in class, through for example class presentations, in order to be eligible to take the course exam. The course lecturer stipulates the specific requirements for active class participation.
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. & 2. Re-exam
For written exams:
A new essay/portfolio with a revised problem statement is submitted at the announced date. The student must register for the re-exam.
For oral exams:
A revised synopsis with a new problem statement is submitted at the announced date. The students must hereafter participate in a new oral exam at the announced date. The student must register for the re-exam.
Criteria for exam assesment

See description of aims

Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Portfolio
Obligatory portfolio assignments: The course lecturer determines the number and length of portfolio assignments. A minimum of 75% thereof will be assessed as the exam. At the end of the course, the lecturer will announce upon which portfolio assignments the assessment will be based.
Exam registration requirements
The student must participate actively in class, through for example class presentations, in order to be eligible to take the course exam. The course lecturer stipulates the specific requirements for active class participation.
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. & 2. Re-exam
For written exams:
A new essay/portfolio with a revised problem statement is submitted at the announced date. The student must register for the re-exam.
For oral exams:
A revised synopsis with a new problem statement is submitted at the announced date. The students must hereafter participate in a new oral exam at the announced date. The student must register for the re-exam.
Criteria for exam assesment

See description of aims