Download Origins, History and Theoretical Frameworks

Origins, History and
Theoretical Perspectives
MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
LI Hernandez
1
ORIGINS
ANTHROPOLGY (from Greek:
ἀνθρωπος, anthropos,
"human being"; and λόγος,
logos, "knowledge") is the
study of humanity.
Human
Being
1.Anthropology
Thinking
about
him/herself
Being
controlled by
others
Communicating
with others
has origins in
the natural sciences, the
humanities, and the social
sciences
2.Anthropology encompasses
physical anthropology,
archeology, linguistics, and
cultural anthropology or
social anthropology.
LI Hernandez
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
ECOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVE (Physical
Anthropology or
Biological Anthropology)
◦ Socio-cultural patterns and
our biology and/or
environment
 Epidemiology (the scientific
study of disease causation)
 Natural Selection (genetically
governed characteristics that
provide a selective advantage
in that population over time)
 Adaptation (the continuing
process by which a population
adjusts to its environment in
response to selective
pressures)
Four Main Approaches in Anthropology
vis-à-vis Medical Anthropology
LI Hernandez
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
CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE
(Distribution of wealth
and power and divisions
of labor affect disease
patterns and health care
access)
◦ Political/Economy Approach
(emphasizes the importance
of political and economic
forces; the exercise of power
– in shaping health, disease,
illness experience and health
care)
Why do socio-cultural
conditions that facilitate
“success” of the disease
continue to prevail in a
society?
Four Main Approaches in Anthropology
vis-à-vis Medical Anthropology
LI Hernandez
4

INTERPRETIVE
PERSPECTIVE (SocioCultural Anthropology)
◦ How are society’s
understandings of and
responses to disease
shaped by cultural
assumptions? HOW ARE
SICKNESSES CULTURALY
CONSTRUCTED?
◦ What meanings does a
disease bring with us?
◦ How do healers account
for the disease and how
they treat it?
Four Main Approaches in Anthropology
vis-à-vis Medical Anthropology
LI Hernandez
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
APPLIED
PERSPECTIVE
◦ Anthropologists as  Culture Brokers
 Transactionists
 Intermediaries
Four Main Approaches in Anthropology
vis-à-vis Medical Anthropology
LI Hernandez
6
Anthropology
Medical
Anthropology
Human
Being
Thinking
about
him/herself
Being
controlled by
others
Communicating
with others
Human
Being as a
Body
Thinking about
his/her body
Being
controlled by
others in the
body
Communicating with
others through the
body
Explaining Health and Illness
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E. B. Tylor, 19thcentury British
anthropologist
Michel Foucault
Franz Boas, one of the
pioneers of modern
anthropology, often
called the "Father of
American Anthropology"
Karl Marx
Emile Durkheim
Margaret Mead
and countless others….
Theories in Medical Anthropology
(How we see, How we live and Why we do it)
LI Hernandez
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
STRUCTURAL
FUNCTIONALISM
◦ SOCIETY is viewed
as a functioning
whole (like a human
body). Every
cultural
phenomenon
contributes to the
maintenance of the
society
Medical
Anthropology
SICKNESS is a potential
disturber of that
functioning whole;
dysfunctional. It should
be cured as soon as
possible to restore the
whole system
HEALTH CARE is a
mechanism to restore
order, to maintain the
system and as a means
of control
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
ECOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVE
◦ CULTURE/SOCIETY
is the result of
adaptation to the
environment. If the
environment
changes, new
adaptation is
needed -> Culture
will change
Medical
Anthropology
SICKNESS is the failure
to adapt to the
environment
HEALTH CARE is an
attempt to reach more
successful adaptation
to the environment
Note: This theory is similar
to structural functionalism
but more dynamic in
approach
LI Hernandez
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
POLITICALECONOMIC
PERSPECTIVE
◦ SOCIETY is a
battleground of classes
with opposing interests
or more often the
outcome of an unequal
battle won by those
who own the means of
production
Medical
Anthropology
CULTURE legitimizes
that Society
SICKNESS is the result
of economic
exploitation and social
inequality
HEALTH CARE serves
the interests of the
domination class; it is a
part of capitalism and it
tries to keep the
capitalist society
functioning
LI Hernandez
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
TRANSACTIONALISM
◦ SOCIETY is the
outcome of the
activities of
enterprising
individuals who
further their private
interests
Medical
Anthropology
SICKNESS – Can
sickness be an
advantage? To whom?
HEALTH CARE is seen as
a field where both
doctors and patients try
to maximize their own
interests
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
COGNITIVESYMBOLIC
PERSPECTIVE
◦ CULTURE/SOCIETY
– people who share
ideas about life
Medical
Anthropology
SICKNESS (“Illness”) is
people’s belief that
they are sick; it is also
symbolic
communication
between people
HEALTH CARE – Special
attention is given to the
way doctor and patient
exchange their ideas
about the sickness
LI Hernandez
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
CRITICAL MEDICAL
ANTHROPOLOGY
◦ is an attempt to
merge the different
theories,
particularly the
political-economic
and cognitivesymbolic
perspectives
Medical
Anthropology
CULTURE – sharing of
ideas which legitimize
social inequality
SICKNESS – the
outcome of conflicts
and tensions in society,
but with a strong
symbolic dimension.
The body is often used
as the unit of analysis
HEALTH CARE is both
symbolic and
exploitative characters
LI Hernandez
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