CHMD8014 Perspectives on Culture, Health and Medicine

Offered By	School of Archaeology & Anthropology
Academic Career	Graduate Coursework
Course Subject	Culture, Health and Medicine
Offered in	First Semester, 2009 and First Semester, 2010
Unit Value	6 units
Course Description	The course provides a critical analysis of medical anthropological approaches in the area of culture, health and medicine. It uses case studies to analyse the different forms of social and cultural analysis to the study of health, illness, and healing and its importance for public health projects in the area of infectious diseases, maternal health, and child health among others. In addition, the course will critically analyse the use and misuse of the concept ‘culture' and ‘behaviour change' in public health projects before addressing medical anthropological approaches in clinical settings. The course will situate health and illness in a broader local and global context to illustrate the diverse factors, such as political economy and socioculture that impact health outcomes around the world. The course aims to give an overview of theoretical and applied medical anthropological approaches and to equip students to work in the area of culture, health and medicine.
Learning Outcomes	Students who satisfy the requirements of this course will have the knowledge and skills: to demonstrate a critical appreciation of the key concepts and approaches in medical anthropology to demonstrate and apply the importance of culture in health related work. to engage in health work and understand the likely social, cultural, political and economic factors influencing health, illness and sickness. to reflect critically on their own experiences of health, illness and sickness in the light of the concepts and methods introduced in this course.
Indicative Assessment	Wiki contribution (25%), online class roleplay exercise (on-campus students: 15%, distance students: 25%), annotated bibliography and abstract (15%), 2500-word essay (35%) and tutorial participation (on-campus students: 10%)
Workload	Delivery mode This course will be taught through a blended approach of 2-hour on-campus seminars and online material/processes, making it suitable for both on-campus and distance students. Digital resources will be available through the ANU's learning management systems. Seminars will be recorded and subsequently made available as streamed readings. For many seminars, a multimedia version (PowerPoint presentations with narration by the lecturer) will also be available.
Recommended Courses	ANTH6026 Medical Anthropology
Programs	Master of Culture, Health and Medicine
Academic Contact	Doreen Montag

The information published on the Study at ANU 2009 website applies to the 2009 academic year only. All information provided on this website replaces the information contained in the Study at ANU 2008 website.