• The Final Exam this semester is Friday May 9th at 11:30AM.
• The final will be same format as the midterm - objective questions (multiple-choice, true-false, matching), a few short answers, and one or two essays.
• The final will not be cumulative in a strict sense but a few questions may go back to some very basic and significant concepts from the first half of the semester - for example, evolutionary medicine, the epidemiological transition, adaptation, human reproductive patterns (the dreaded species-specific reproductive patterns of the textbook), as well as the issues related to disability and stigma.
• Most of the exam will be based on material we've covered since the midterm (see below) and Seth Holmes' Fresh Fruit: Broken Bodies will be covered as well.

Stress, illness and healing

Readings: McElroy & Townsend pages 267-310; Wolfgang Jilek: Cultural Factors in Psychiatric Disorders; Laurence Kirmayer: Cultural Variations in the Clinical Presentation of Depression and Anxiety. George Foster: Disease Etiologies in Non-Western Medical Systems; Explanations of illness; Culture specific diseases
Videos: Eduardo the Healer (1 minute trailer only). Please see D2L page for other options!

• Be familiar with M&T's discussion of stressors, stress response and the physiological defenses of the human body.

• Be aware of the concept of fight or flight and the recent modifications that have been suggested to this notion.

• Know who Hans Selye was and why he is so important to this subject.

• Be familiar with the concept of culture bound syndromes and some examples of them.

• Be familiar with George Foster's distinction between naturalistic and personalistic theories of disease causation.

Culture change and health

Readings: McElroy & Townsend pages 312-348; Kirmayer et al.: Healing Traditions: Culture, Community and Mental Health Promotion with Canadian Aboriginal Peoples. Arthur Kleinman and Peter Benson: Anthropology in the Clinic: The Problem of Cultural Competency and How to Fix It
Videos: Culture Matters: Indigenous Perspectives on Behavioral Healthcare; Suicide Numbers in Nunavut in 2013 a Record High

• Be familiar with the stages of culture contact M&T identify and the characteristics they associate with each.

• Know what the differences are between acculturation and assimilation.

• Be very familiar with the Inuit example used by M&T and how this relates to the recent information on youth suicide.

• Be familiar with M&T's discussion of medical pluralism as well as their discussion of refugee health care.

Development and its costs

Readings: M&T pages 360-407; John Bodley: The Price of Progress; Moore et al.  Global Urbanization and Impact on Health.
Videos:  Saving Lives through Clean Cookstoves: Ethan Kay at TEDxMontreal; Chagas Disease is a Development Issue

• Be familiar with M&T's discussion of the concepts of modernization and development as well as what I covered in my lecture on these topics.

• Know why Malaysian factory workers were struck by a wave of spirit possession in the 1980s.

• What is schistosomiasis and what does it have to do with development?

• What do M&T say about health disparities in developed countries as well as the costs of industrial development? 

• What is the anthropology of trouble?

The AIDS crisis

Readings: M&T pages 348-357, 415-418; Arachu Castro and Paul Farmer: Understanding and Addressing AIDS-Related Stigma: From Anthropological Theory to Clinical Practice in Haiti.
Videos:  American Doctors' Charity Saves Lives Around the World + Pitts Reporters Notebook (more on Paul Farmer's approach to treating patients with dignity)

• What do Arthur Kleinman, Paul Farmer, and Arachu Castro believe anthropologists can add to the discussion of HIV/AIDS?

Political economy of health

Readings: M&T pages 410-427; Paul Farmer: Social Inequalities and Emerging Infectious Diseases; Solomon Benatar: Global Disparities in Health and Human Rights: A Critical Commentary; Health in Cuba; Key concepts (health inequalities)

Videos:  Cuba’s Emphasis on Preventive Medicine; Cuba: A Clean Bill of Health; Unnatural Causes: In Sickness and in Wealth (please see the D2L page for information on accessing this)

• What do M&T say about an approach which examines the political economy of health?

• What did we talk about with regard to the notion of functional apartheid?

• How does/should the concept of cultural relativism affect anthropological involvement in public health?

• How do M& T link the work of forensic anthropologists with the issue of human rights?

• Be familiar with M&T's discussion of anthropological involvement in international public health, especially individuals such as Carole Jenkins and Paul Farmer working on AIDS.

Seth Holmes: Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies

• Video: Invisible America: The Migrant Story .

  • The relationship between this short video and Seth Holmes' research will be obvious. Also, don't overlook the fact that I showed it on May 1, International Workers' Day. 

• Holmes uses the concepts structural and symbolic violence throughout his book. If you are not familiar with those ideas then you should try to become so ASAP.

• What does Holmes mean by the clinical gaze?

• What does Holmes refer to when he speaks of embodied anthropology?

• What does Holmes profile of categories of race, class, and citizenship reveal about the role of structural factors vs. individuals in creating hierarchy? 

• There are several academic presentations  by Seth Holmes available online. Both are over 1 hour but both cover most of what he discusses in the book.

  • At Western Washington University (Vimeo)

  • At University of California, Berkeley (YouTube)