Anthropology 375 Comparative Systems of Healing

Spring 2012; Monday/Wednesday 7:00-9:20pm Instructor: Jennifer Carroll

Contact Information
Email: jencarr2@uw.edu Office Hours: Denny 429, 6:00-7:00pm M/W and by appointment

Course Overview Catalog Description

Introduction to the anthropological study of healing. Examines local approaches to healing, considering their similarities and differences and addresses their place within global systems. Includes anthropological theories of healing.

Texts
Required: Lindquist, Galina. 2006. Conjuring Hope: Healing and Magic in Contemporary Russia. Bergham Books. Course Reader* (local print shop- TBA) *All readings for this course are available either in print or online through the UW library system. You are not required to purchase the course reader, but if you choose not to purchase it, you are responsible for accessing and reading all assigned materials on your own. Recommended: A number of our course readings come from these books. The selections assigned are available in the course reader, but if you have a strong interest in medical anthropology, then I highly recommend that you add these books to your personal library. Levi-Strauss, Claude. 1963. Structural Anthropology. Basic Books. Sargent, Carol and Johnson, eds., 1990/1996. Medical Anthropology: Contemporary Theory and Method. Westport, CT: Praeger.

Course Assignments and Grading Grading

Course grades will be determined on a 100-point scale: Reading Responses: 10 points 2 Midterms: 15 points each Class Participation: 20 points Final Presentation: 10 points Final Paper: 30 points

Reading Assignments and Responses (10 points)

All assignments (including readings) are listed on the course schedule on the day they are due to be completed. Students are required to post a written response to a minimum of ten readings (which means readings from ten different class periods) over the course of the quarter on the class bulletin board. These responses should be approximately 100 words, excluding any quotations, and should directly address the readings for that day. Appropriate content for these responses include questions that have arisen from the readings, critiques of the authors methods or arguments, and further thoughts relating the readings to other course materials, to content or lessons from other classes, or relevant current events. Responses must be posted by 12pm PST on the day of class when those readings are due in order to be counted for credit. Students are encouraged to engage in online discussion and respond to each others postings. Expectations for scholarly conduct in the classroom extend to this on-line forum.

Participation (20 points)

Dialog and debate are central to the discipline of anthropology. Satisfactory participation requires students to come to class prepared to discuss all of the readings assigned and to actively engage in discussion about those readings and the topics at hand. Active engagement in discussion does not simply mean talking. Asking questions, active listening, making room for and inviting others to participate, and making other meaningful, if small, contributions to class are all appropriate forms of classroom engagement. Being a part of a class of this size (especially a cultural anthropology class!) requires each of us to recognize that different individuals have different reaction times, different speeds of speech and lengths of conversational pauses. Some students may not be native speakers of English or may process information differently and at different speeds. Some people take a longer time to consider their words, and others sometimes speak without thinking! There is no concrete outline for how a student should participate in class, but everyone is required to make a consistent, concerted effort to actively engage.

Midterms (2 @ 15 points each)

There will be two written, in-class midterm exams. These tests will cover material from readings as well as from class lectures and discussion. Both midterms will be comprehensive.

Final Paper (30 points)

This course requires students to write an original paper analyzing healing practices that relate to a particular illness, syndrome, or medical approach. Possible topics could include the treatment of culture-bound syndromes (susto, latah, PMS, colds, etc.), ethnomedical approaches (curanderos, ayurveda, etc.), biomedical practices or approaches to healing, and many more. These papers are students opportunity to explore the multifaceted nature of healing practice, including social, scientific, political, and symbolic elements of health and illness) and to display their grasp of the key concepts addressed in this class by applying them in the analysis of their chosen subject. Students will need to conduct research outside of class on their chosen subjects, but they are also encouraged to make liberal use of sources used in this class in their papers. Papers must be between 4000 and 5000 words in length, not including citations or footnotes. Papers above or below the word limit will not be accepted. All papers must be titled. Final drafts ready for submission should be in Times New Roman 12-point font, double-spaced, with one (1) inch margins on all sides. Pages should be numbered. Please include a heading with your name, course, and the date. There is no need for a title page. All references must be properly and adequately cited, including course materials. The format that will be used for grading papers will be made available on the course website.

Final Presentation (10 points)

During the last week of class, students will present the work that they have completed for their final paper in front of the class. Students should provide handouts for their classmates that outline the topic of their paper, major theoretical frames, and a brief summary of their analysis. Students are encouraged to be creative with these materials. If they wish, students may prepare electronic slideshows for their presentation, which can be emailed to the class list in lieu of designing and printing handouts. Students will provide anonymous feedback for their peers presentations. The goal of this exercise is to provide thoughts, ideas, and constructive criticism that students may find helpful when authoring their final papers. Providing this feedback for others will constitute part of each students presentation requirement and grade.

Extra Credit
Extra credit assignments may be given at the discretion of the instructor. If the instructor specifies a due date for an extra credit assignment, no extensions will be allowed, and the assignment will not be accepted after that date.

Grade Disputes
The University of Washington has procedures in place to handle grading disputes and appeals. This and other information about grading policies can be found online at http://www.washington.edu/students/gencat/front/Grading_Sys.html

Student Expectations Anticipated Absences

If you are unable to come to class due to illness, personal or family emergency, or any other reason, you are responsible for informing the instructor prior to that class period. If you miss class for a reason that was unforeseen (traffic accident, etc.), you are responsible for informing the instructor as to the reason for your absence as soon as possible. It is expected that the instructor will be informed as to the nature of every absence, regardless of the cause. The excusing of absences is at the discretion of the instructor. If you are ill, you must bring a doctors note in order for that absence to be excused.

Classroom Behavior and Preparation

Please be on time for class. If you cannot be on time for class, for whatever reason, please enter class without causing too much of a disturbance. This means enter the classroom quietly and sit in the first available seat. The same goes for those who need to leave class early. Please select a location close to the door of the classroom and leave quietly so as to keep the inevitable disruption to a minimum. By acting in such a manner, you are showing respect to your fellow students and the instructor. It is expected each student will be prepared for class. Preparation is defined in this course as having read all of the material prior to the class period, cell phones either turned off or put on silent, possession of a functioning writing utensil and something which to write on, and have on their person the relevant textbooks/reading material for the class period. The student can determine the relevant information for the class period by referring to the course schedule, which is available on the class website. Students will be courteous to fellow colleagues and the instructor, by allowing others to express their points of view in a scholarly manner. The classroom is a place where the free expression of ideas and concepts are expected and allowed, and no other person should inhibit such an opportunity. Students should regulate their statements so that they apply to a wider audience, and should not attempt to dominate class time with individualized statements or stories. Students are welcome to bring laptops to class for note taking and accessing relevant on-line references and course materials. Email checking, chatting, game playing, and web surfing are highly inappropriate uses of class time and are disrespectful to the instructor and the other students in class. Students blatantly misusing technology in the classroom (including cell phones) will be asked to leave and will receive no credit for classroom participation on that day.

Electronic Document Submission via Catalyst Dropbox

Whenever an assignment is submitted as an electronic document, it is the students responsibility to make sure that the file is correct and complete. If an electronic document is submitted and is unreadable or in anyway corrupted, the assignment will be considered incomplete and late penalties will apply until a proper, functional document is submitted.

All written assignments should be submitted in .doc or .pdf format. All filenames should reflect the students name and the assignment.

Individual Student Needs and Disability Support

Every student deserves the opportunity learn in the best and most appropriate environment possible. If you have a question, concern, comment, request or other need please come and talk to me in person or send me a detailed e-mail as soon as possible. I can make adjustments or accommodations for individuals or the entire class, but only if I am made aware of them. Students with medically recognized and documented disabilities and who are in need of special accommodation have an obligation to notify the University of their needs. Students in need of accommodation should contact the Office of Disability Resources for Students at 206-543-8924 (Voice) or 206-543-8925 (TTY) You can also find more information online at http://www.washington.edu/students/drs/. If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, if you have emergency medical information, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible

Academic Honesty
I take academic honesty very seriously. When flagrant cheating or plagiarism occurs, it is an insult to me, to the students in this course, and to the guilty student. It is an insult to the time we spend here teaching and learning from each other. Academic instruction, particularly in the liberal arts, is unique in its focus on intellectual fluency and collaborative effort rather than taskbased competition and self-promotion. Your college education does not consist of a collection of hoops that you need to get through. This course requires you to engage with course materials, with other students, with the instructor, and with the greater academic community in a productive and innovative fashion. Academic dishonesty defeats the purposes of this class and of this institution, and it will not be tolerated. Especially in a discipline that requires you to be able to engage with the ideas of others and to cite multiple unique sources, plagiarism is an incredibly self-defeating activity. Plagiarism is, at the very least, grounds for a zero grade for that assignment. If a student is suspected of deliberate plagiarism on an assignment, that student will be reported to the Dean Representative on Academic Conduct in accordance with UWs Academic Honesty Policy. More information on UWs academic honestly policies can be found online: http://www.washington.edu/uaa/advising/help/academichonesty.php

Course Schedule
Week 1 Introduction: Theoretical Frames Wednesday: Kleinman, Arthur. 1989. The Illness Narratives (selections). Week 2 Taxonomies of Healing: Leaving Behind the Western/Non-Western Divide. Monday: Csordas, Thomas. Therapeutic Process in Sargent, Carol and Johnson, eds., 1990(1996). Medical Anthropology: Contemporary Theory and Method. pp. 3-20 Wednesday: Rubel, Arthur J. and Michael R. Hass. Ethnomedicine. and Rhodes, Lorna. Studying Biomedicine as a Cultural System, in Sargent, Carol and Johnson, eds., 1990(1996). Medical Anthropology: Contemporary Theory and Method. pp. 113-130 and 165-180. Week 3 Alternative Explanatory Models of Illness and Healing Monday: Pylypa, Jennifer. 2008. Healing Herbs and Dangerous Doctors. MAQ 21(4): 349-368. and Rubel, Arthur J. 1964. The Epidemiology of a Folk Illness: Susto in Hispanic America. Ethnology 3(3): 268-283. Wednesday: Erickson, Barbra. 2007. Toxin or Medicine. MAQ 21(1): 1-21. Week 4 Becoming a Healer Monday: Levi-Strauss, Claude. 1963. The Sorcerer and His Magic in Structural Anthropology. Basic Books. pp.167-185. Wednesday: Davenport, Beverly Ann. 2008. Witnessing and the Medical Gaze: How Medical Students Learn to See at a Free Clinic for the Homeless. MAQ 14(3): 310-327. Week 5 Social Trauma and Collective Healing Monday: Brave Heart, Maria Yellow Horse. 2003. The Historical Trauma Response Among Natives and Its Relationship with Substance Abuse: a Lakota Illustration. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 35(1): 7-13 and Taylor, Rex and Annelie Rieger. 1984. Rudolf Virchow on the Typhus Epidemic in Upper Silesia: an Introduction and Translation. Sociology of Health and Illness 6(2): 201-218. Wednesday: Midterm #1 Week 6 Healing Beyond Cartesian Dualism Monday: Levi-Strauss, Claude. 1963. The Effectiveness of Symbols. In Structural Anthropology. Basic Books pp.186-205 Wednesday: Raikhel, Eugene. 2010. Post-Soviet Placebos: Epistemology and Authority in Russian Treatments for Alcoholism Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry 34: 132-168. Week 7 Healing and the Body-Politic. Monday: Bourgois, Philippe. 2005. Disciplining Addictions: The Bio-Politics of Methadone and Heroin in the United States. Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry 24(2): 165-195. Wednesday: Coleman, Doriane Lambelet. 1998. The Seattle Compromise: Multicultural Sensitivity and Americanization. Duke Law Journal 47(4): 717-783.

Week 8 Magical Healing in Contemporary Russia Monday: Lindquist, Galina. 2006. Conjuring Hope: Healing and Magic in Contemporary Russia. Bergham Books. Chapters 1, 2 Wednesday: Lindquist, Galina. Chapters 4, 5 Week 9 - Magical Healing in Contemporary Russia, cont. Monday: Lindquist, Galina. Chapters 6, 7 Wednesday: Midterm #2 Week 10 Presentations Monday: presentations of student projects Wednesday: presentations of student projects Finals Week Final papers due.