Introduction to Medical Anthropology

Medical anthropology takes a cross-cultural and evolutionary perspective on illness and health. Its central focus is the body and our experience of our social selves through the physical. The course discusses the universal human experience of the world through the body, yet approaches the subject through specific research in biological anthropology, sociology, cultural anthropology, and psychiatry that is directly related to the cultural experience of illness and wellness at particular life stages. This course is broadening to all students, but it is especially helpful to health professionals in a multi-cultural society.