ANTH 377 A: Anthropology and International Health

 “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.”

- Martin Luther King

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is an introduction to Anthropology and Global Health. This interdisciplinary course explores the field of international health from a medical anthropological perspective, focusing on some of the major health challenges facing populations in resource-poor societies around the globe.

The purpose of the course is to develop students’ awareness of the political, socioeconomic, epidemiologic, and cultural complexity of most health problems in the world and the consequent need for anthropological involvement in the field of international/global health as it intersects in scope and practices with public health. From anthropological and social-justice perspectives, we will explore the impact of global processes on the health of our own and other societies. We emphasize inter-relationships among cultural, environmental, social-economic, political and medical systems that contribute to health status, outcomes, policies and health-care delivery as well as health disparities within and between societies around the world.

With an eye toward active engagement in global health action and politics, course materials introduce students to the parameters of contemporary international health constructs, policies and practices. Our interest is in the history of, approaches to, and efficacy of the contributions of an anthropologically oriented international health praxis. Students will be exposed to the anthropology of international health as concept, organizing principle, social hierarchy, and web of individuals, institutions and policies. The overall goal is to distill the most useful ideas, practices, evidence and approaches to articulate a working anthropological praxis of global health in a quickly changing, globally interconnected world.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. To introduce students to the field of international health through a medical anthropology orientation with a focus on global health challenges and perspectives.
2. To explore the production, methods, scope and uses of medical anthropology methods and theory to address urgent international health problems.
3. Using a comparative approach, to introduce students to the key components and dynamics of health systems as they emerge in a variety of geographic and socio-cultural settings and historical moments.
4. To enhance students’ capacity to think analytically about contemporary patterns of health disparities and health crises within and between communities with the goal of identifying opportunities to improve community health.
5. To offer students opportunities to collect and analyze their own library research data and to develop student capacity to apply core course concepts to contemporary international health challenges.

BY THE END OF THIS COURSE STUDENTS SHOULD BE ABLE TO:

1. Define anthropology as a field, the scope and special focus of medical anthropology, and the role of ethnography as a core method, product and world-view of the discipline.
2. Identify core elements of international health practice and policy across place and time and describe the relationship between health policy, health systems and broad social patterns of life chances and life quality.
3. Apply key course concepts such as globalization, political economy, social structure, cultural construction, life course and medical pluralism to independent research on an international health problem of their choice.
4. Identify core international health challenges as they emerge and shape contemporary human interactions and welfare in ways that impinge upon health within and between communities.
5. Conduct independent library research on a topic related to international health and identify relevant anthropological approaches to the problem.
6. Analyze and propose how the use of anthropological research can contribute to interrupting or perpetuating international health challenges.

OVERVIEW OF COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Coursework Evaluation

Methods of Instruction

• Professor topic orientation, lecture, and class discussion
• Guest lecture
• Class participation and discussion
• Films
• Individual research for papers

ALERT: ABSOLUTELY NO LAPTOPS OR MOBILE DEVICES CAN BE USED DURING LECTURE (EXCEPT FOR POLL EVERYWHERE EXERCISES)! THEY ARE DISTRACTING TO OTHERS AND TO YOU.  

PARTICIPATION QUIZ - POLL EVERYWHERE

Participation is tracked via quizzes completed during lecture. There are a total of 10 quizzes worth 2 points each, making 20 possible participation points within the quarter. The quiz can take place on either the Tuesday or Thursday, once, twice, or not at all in any given week, and during lecture at any moment. Therefore, to get participation points, you must be present in lecture.

There are no make-up assignments for missed quizzes, but your two lowest grades will be dropped at the end of the quarter.

PANOPTO RECORDINGS

Class lecture recordings are only available to students with excused absences. Students must e-mail instructors ahead of their absence to request access.

EXTRA CREDIT

Select any of the "Recommended" Farmer readings from any week and submit a separate Reading  Reflection (under Extra Credit Assignments) for 2 additional points. Submission time must correspond with the week's recommended reading (e.g. the Recommended Farmer reading for Week 3 must be submitted along with Week 3's Reading Reflection).

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
The University of Washington acknowledges the Coast Salish people of this land, the land which
touches the shared waters of all tribes and bands within the Duwamish, Suquamish, Tulalip and
Muckleshoot nations. 

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:

Students at the University of Washington (UW) are expected to maintain the highest standards of academic conduct, professional honesty, and personal integrity. The Department of Anthropology is committed to upholding standards of academic integrity consistent with the academic and professional communities of which it is a part. Plagiarism, cheating, and other misconduct are serious violations of the University of Washington Student Conduct Code (WAC 478-120). We expect you to know and follow the university’s policies on cheating and plagiarism. Any suspected cases of academic misconduct will be handled according to University of Washington regulations. For more information, see the University of Washington Community Standards and Student Conduct website.

STUDENT CONDUCT:

The University of Washington is committed to fostering an environment where the free exchange of ideas is an integral part of the academic learning environment. Disruption or domination of classroom discussions can prohibit other students from engaging and participating. Any student causing disruption may be asked to leave any class session, and, depending on the severity and frequency of that behavior, an incident report may be filed with Community Standards and Student Conduct. As a condition of enrollment, all students assume responsibility to observe standards of conduct that will contribute to the pursuit of academic goals and to the welfare of the academic community. For more information please see:

Here are links for the text that is highlighted above in bold: 

• UW Student Conduct Code (WAC 478-120)

      http://www.washington.edu/cssc/student-conduct-overview/student-code-of-conduct/

• Community Standards and Student Conduct

      http://www.washington.edu/cssc/

LATE POLICY:

Reading reflections: the entire week's readings are due Monday at 11:59pm, the day before our Tuesday class is to ensure that you come to class prepared to discuss the readings and pose further questions regarding the content. The assignment will stay open until the next day, but  reading reflections will not be accepted once class starts. Any late assignments will only be considered for extenuating circumstances with substantial proof at the instructors' discretion.

If for any reason, you anticipate being unable to meet a deadline, particularly for your mid-term, final exam, or final paper, you must alert the teaching staff ahead of time. Again, extensions or acceptance of late assignments will only be considered for extenuating circumstances with substantial proof and at the instructors' discretion. Late submissions with no forewarning are less likely to be accepted after the fact.

You must first contact the TA with any request. Do not go straight to the professor with these requests, he has several classes and responsibilities he manages and is less likely to attend to your message in a timely way!

ACCESS AND ACCOMMODATIONS:

Your experience in this class is important to us. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please communicate your approved accommodations to me at your earliest convenience so we can discuss your needs in this course. If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), you are welcome to contact DRS at 206-543-8924 or uwdrs@uw.edu or disability.uw.edu. DRS offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities and/or temporary health conditions. Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you, your instructor(s) and DRS. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law.

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY & CLASSROOM CLIMATE:
We seek to ensure all students are fully included in this course. We strive to overcome systemic racism and power imbalances by creating an environment that reflects community and mutual caring, while we ally with others in combating all forms of social oppression. This is a work in progress, as transformation is rarely a fully-completed project. In this course, we will look for opportunities to improve our performance as we seek to break down institutional racism. This can include course readings, class interactions, faculty performance, and/or the institutional environment. Diverse backgrounds, embodiments and experiences are essential to the critical thinking endeavor at the heart of University education. In this course, instructors and students are expected to:

1. To respect individual differences, which may include, but are not limited to, age, cultural background, disability, ethnicity, family status, gender, immigration status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status and veteran status.
2. To engage respectfully in the discussion of diverse worldviews and ideologies embedded in course readings, presentations and artifacts, including those course materials that may be at odds with personal beliefs and values.

On our first day of class we will create ground rules together to follow in promoting a productive learning environment for all members of the class. I am committed to making this class an equitable learning environment. Please talk with me right away if you experience disrespect in this class from other students and/or from me, and I will work to address it in an educational manner. 

PRONOUNS
We share our pronouns because we strive to cultivate an inclusive environment where people of all genders feel safe and respected. We cannot assume we know someone’s gender just by looking at them. So we invite everyone to share their pronouns. 

SEXUAL HARASSMENT:
Sexual harassment is a form of harassment based on the recipient’s sex that is characterized by:

1. Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature by a person who has authority over the recipient when:
         o Submission to such conduct is an implicit or explicit condition of the individual’s
             employment, academic status, or ability to use University facilities and services, or
         o Submission to or rejection of the conduct affects tangible aspects of the individual’s
            employment, academic status, or use of University facilities.
2. Unwelcome and unsolicited language or conduct that creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working or learning environment, or has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s academic or work performance.

If you believe that you are being harassed, or have observed harassment, you can report it to SPH using the bias concerns link. The University also has designated offices to help you: SafeCampus; Office of the Ombud; Title IX Investigation Office; and University Complaint Investigation and Resolution Office.

COURSE TEXTBOOKS:

Texts:

Textbook of Global Health (4th edn). 2017. Anne-Imanuelle Birn, Yogan Pillay, and Timothy Holtz. Oxford University Press: Oxford. (e-book UW Libraries).

Anthropology and Public Health: Bridging Differences in Culture and Society. 2009. Robert A Hahn and Marcia Inhorn. Oxford University Press: Oxford (e-book UW Libraries).

Reimagining Global Health: An Introduction. 2013. Paul Farmer, Jim Yong Kim, Arthur Kleinman, and Matthew Basilico. University of California Press: Berkeley and Los Angeles (e-book UW Libraries).

All texts are also available to check out for 4 hours at a time at the Odegaard Undergraduate Library.

All text books are available as free e-books through the UW library system.

Articles:

• All other readings are available through the course website on Canvas.