Asian Medical Systems (ANTH 479C)
This course is a basic introduction to three traditional medical systems of Asia: Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, and Tibetan medicine. We will examine theoretical underpinnings, the training of practitioners, materials and techniques utilized in treatment, and important historical developments in each system. We will explore issues of the interface between biomedicine and these systems, and larger issues of globalization in the practice and consumption of traditional medicines. Taking an anthropological approach, we will aim to understand each system from within itself while also paying close attention to the socio-cultural and political conditions under which each system has thrived and has also faced challenges. We will examine how systems of healing are both biologically as well as culturally based, and we will consider how these medical systems relate to issues of national identity and global politics. The class also includes unique interaction with the Seattle Institute of East Asian Medicine, learning from practitioners of Chinese medicine.
PLEASE NOTE: this course is displaying incorrectly via UW Bookstore (as ANTH 369)