Course Description
“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking and inhumane.”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (March 1966)
Why do health outcomes vary across the globe? How do culture, politics, and biology shape illness and healing? This course introduces medical anthropology as a critical approach to global health, with a special emphasis on Latin America and the Caribbean. Students will examine key theories, applied frameworks, and debates on health policy, ethics, and cultural competency, while exploring how biological and social factors interact to produce health inequalities. The course integrates genetics, biology, culture, and social factors to build a unified understanding of the origins of disease and other health-related conditions, while fostering critical thinking on strategies for healthier populations, equitable healthcare systems, and a sustainable world. No prior anthropology experience required—students from all disciplines are welcome.
Course Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, students will:
- Think critically about health as a biosocial process and recognize how health reflects broader social, cultural, and political contexts.
- Develop skills to write with clarity, focus, and brevity when analyzing health and illness.
- Examine key concepts, theories, and methodological frameworks in medical anthropology and global health.
- Explain the roles of different types of healers and health providers in clinical and non-clinical settings, and describe what cultural competency means in contexts where multiple medical systems coexist.
- Analyze the connection between individual health experiences and broader social and cultural processes, including global inequalities.
- Analyze qualitative data collected through in-depth interviews on a health topic of personal significance, identifying key themes and patterns that reveal social and cultural influences on health.