• Offered by School of Archaeology and Anthropology
  • ANU College ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
  • Classification Transitional
  • Course subject Anthropology
  • Areas of interest Anthropology, Philosophy, Sociology, Medicine, Health
Medical Anthropology (ANTH6026)
The course provides an introduction to the field of medical anthropology. It includes the application of different forms of social and cultural analysis to the study of health, illness, and healing. Examples of medical systems and medical practices are drawn from a range of cultures. In the first part of the course the scope of medical anthropology will be covered and different approaches to the understanding of the body discussed, including the social and cultural construction of illness and illness categories, healers and their roles, the foundations of efficacy in healing, and the place of individual and social agency in health and illness. In the second half of the course health and human rights, pharmaceuticals and ethics of medical research and organ trafficking will be the centre of the discussion.
 
The course provides a critical understanding of health care systems and political economy of health, illness and healing with a specific focus on the context in which health inequalities are experienced, how they are historically constructed and why they are maintained in the current realities. We will use case studies from across the world to explore the historical, environmental, biosocial, political economic and socio-cultural factors that influence individual and collective therapy management, local healing practices, national health care, and medical research and health policies in their local, national and international context, and to analyse fundamental medical anthropological concepts and theories and to critically analyse academic writing.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

Upon Successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

  1. Discuss the relevance of advanced anthropological concepts for studying health and healing.
  2. Identify key features of advanced anthropological approaches to health and healing.
  3. Assess and critically compare the strengths and weaknesses of different anthropological approaches to health and healing.
  4. Formulate well-researched anthropological areas of inquiry and questions to be applied to issues of health and healing.
  5. Recognize and analyze the differences and similarities in various healing systems based on advanced anthropological concepts.
  6. Work collaboratively to communicate the social significance of important medical and health issues and reflect on the process. 
  7. Demonstrate advanced skills in critical reading, thinking, writing, and public presentation.

Indicative Assessment

In class written reflections: 10 x 200 words (20%) LO 1, 2, 3, 5, 7

Presentation: 10 Min (10%) LO 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7

Two Essays: 2000 words each (20% each) LO 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7

Group Project: 2000 words (30%) LO 1,2,3,4,6,7

The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.

Workload

3 hours of combined lecture and tutorial per week for 13 weeks. Students are expected to undertake a further 7 hours of independent study per teaching week over the semester (total 130 hours)

Requisite and Incompatibility

You are not able to enrol in this course if you have previously completed ANTH2026.

Prescribed Texts

Baer, Hans A., Merrill Singer, and Ida Susser, 2013. Medical Anthropology and the World System: Critical Perspectives, Third Edition. Westport, CT: Praeger.

Good, Byron J., 1994. Medicine, Rationality, and Experience: An Anthropological Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Lock, Margaret, and Vinh-Kim Nguyen, 2010. An Anthropology of Biomedicine. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

Sargent, C.F., and T.M. Johnson, 1996. Medical Anthropology: Contemporary Theory and Method, Revised Edition.  Westport, CT: Praeger.

Fees

Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.  

If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.

Student Contribution Band:
1
Unit value:
6 units

If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.  Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.

Units EFTSL
6.00 0.12500

Course fees

Domestic International
Domestic fee paying students
Year Fee
2015 $2604
International fee paying students
Year Fee
2015 $4146
Note: Please note that fee information is for current year only.

Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links

ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.

The list of offerings for future years is indicative only.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
2015
2016
2017

First Semester

Class number Class start date Last day to enrol Census date Class end date Mode Of Delivery Class Summary
1012 16 Feb 2015 06 Mar 2015 31 Mar 2015 29 May 2015 In Person N/A

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