Anthropology 284 - Global Health and the Middle East

(ANTH-284 and ASLC-284)This course explores a range of central themes in global health and medical anthropology within the Middle East and North Africa. Drawing on richly contextualized ethnographic and historical accounts from across the region, the course will engage such topics as political violence, humanitarianism, environmental health, reproductive health, gender and sexuality, disability, and new medical technologies. Approaching these topics within the context of a particular region will afford students the opportunity to consider in concrete ways how experiences of illness and suffering refract broader structural realities, how bodies become privileged sights for constituting nation-states, and the complex entanglements of medicine, colonialism, and imperialism. By the end of the course, students will have been introduced to major topics within medical anthropology and global health, as well as gained an understanding of some of the most pressing issues being faced in the region today.

Enrollment limited to 25. Fall Semester. Professor Dole.

How to handle overenrollment: Preference given to anthropology and ASLC majors

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Emphasis on close reading, discussion, independent research, and written assignments.