Medical Anthropology

Where health and beauty meet: Femininity and racialisation in Thai cosmetic surgery clinics

by Aren Aizura

Asian Studies Review 33:3 (2009), 303—317.

The Romance of the Amazing Scalpel: 'Race', Labor and Affect in Thai gender reassignment clinics

by Aren Aizura

In Peter A. Jackson, (ed), Queer Bangkok. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2011. Page proofs only.

HIV in Out-of-School Youth (Southern and Eastern Africa)

by koen stroeken

An Investigation of the Surgical Referral Process Utilized by Non-Governmental Organizations in Guatemala

by Sarah Garrett

Investigating Emerging Biomedical Practices: Zones of Awkward Engagement on Different Scales

by Michalis Kontopodis

Engineering love

by Brian Earp

Savulescu, J. and Sandberg, A. (2012). Love machine: Engineering lifelong romance. New Scientist, 2864, 28-29.

Essay partially adapted from Earp, B. D., Sandberg, A., and Savulescu, J. (2012). Natural selection, childrearing, and the ethics of marriage (and divorce): Building a case for the neuroenhancement of human relationships. Philosophy & Technology, forthcoming [see "profile" box in article].

Available at the New Scientist website: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21428646.200-love-machine-engineering-lifelong-romance.html

New Scientist BIG IDEA section, May 2012.

With break-up and divorce a major part of modern life, it looks... more New Scientist BIG IDEA section, May 2012.

With break-up and divorce a major part of modern life, it looks like we may be outliving our inborn capacity to love. But there could be a way to outwit evolution and make love last.

Also available at New Scientist: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21428646.200-love-machine-engineering-lifelong-romance.html.

Comparative Melioration and Pathological Pathogenization in Viagra Marketing.

by Roman Meinhold

(2011) In: Botz-Bornstein, Thorsten.: The Philosophy of Viagra. Bioethical Responses to the Viagrification of the Modern World. New York, Amsterdam: Rodopi (Value Inquiry Book Series)

The paper investigates how Viagra marketing utilizes the human condition of comparative melioration. Comparative... more The paper investigates how Viagra marketing utilizes the human condition of comparative melioration. Comparative melioration is the drive of humans to improve themselves and their environment by  comparing their own condition or status quo with those of others or with potential conditions. In Viagra marketing the utilization of this human condition is linked with the strategy of pathogenization, that is the constant widening and re-definition of the notions and concepts of disease, disorder, and dysfunction. Side effects of the pathologization are that this strategy itself is creating additional medical problems, that means that the pathologization is pathogenic and therefore it is also pathologic. The paper concludes with an enlightenment-appeal according to which one should utilize various available resources of information to improve one's own understanding of medical conditions.

'I'm always on the lookout for what could be going wrong': mothers' concepts and experiences of health and illness in their young children

by Deborah Lupton

Sydney Health & Society Group Working Paper No. 1

Mothers in contemporary western societies are expected to adhere to the principles of intensive parenting, spending a... more Mothers in contemporary western societies are expected to adhere to the principles of intensive parenting, spending a great deal of time and effort caring for their children, protecting them from risks and promoting their health, development and wellbeing. This paper draws upon research involving indepth interviews with 60 mothers of infants and young children living in Sydney. The discussion focuses in detail on three major topics discussed in the interviews: how the interviewees conceptualised good health and illness in their children; the role of diet and physical exercise in promoting children’s good health; and space, physical safety and bad influences. The study found that the interviewees reported that they ‘read the signs’ of their children’s bodies and had to ‘know’ their bodies intimately in order to do so. They also interpreted the signals of their own bodies – their ‘gut instincts’ – as part of the process of maintaining careful surveillance of their children’s health state. They represented diet and physical exercise as the most important dimensions of promoting their children’s health, and were very concerned about the risk of obesity in their children. Notions of space and judgements about the bodies within these spaces were also important to some of the women’s concepts of protecting their children’s health and wellbeing.

Call for papers - The Inner Revolution (16th and 17th century) [English version]

by Lo Sguardo - Rivista di Filosofia

This tenth issue of Lo Sguardo will be dedicated to the “inner revolution” of he 16th and 17th century; in particular it will delve into the matter of the interiorization of the world” and the development of an “individual interiority” in the period included betweenthe end of the Renaissance and the early modern Age. With this purpose the issue will consider the “psychology of the soul” livering over the role of the “auxialiry faculties” –such as memory, imagination, fantasy – in relation to the notion of apprehensio, to the practice of spiritual exercises and to the concept of homo faber sui.

Accepted languages: English, French, Italian, Spanish, German
Deadline for the delivery: September, 10th 2012

Please feel free to contact us for any further informations: redazione@losguardo.net

http://www.losguardo.net/index.html
http://www.losguardo.net/public/collabora/collabora.html

Almost There: A Portrait of Peter Anton, Cultural reproduction, attitudes, and meaning in the category of outsider art

by Andrea Fritsch

Field Notes: A Journal of Collegiate Anthropology 4(1): 87-105. (May 2012)
Copyright ©2012 by Field Notes: A Journal of Collegiate Anthropology

An analysis of the debate surrounding the art exhibit Almost There: A Portrait of Peter Anton at Intuit: The Center... more An analysis of the debate surrounding the art exhibit Almost There: A Portrait of Peter Anton at Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art in 2010 reveals sets of actors with competing interests and claims on the term outsider art. I explore the public fascination with madness and outsider art, suggesting actors engage outsider art in three attitudes—aesthetic, instrumental and investigative. Aesthetic attitudes operate within an expanded definition of official ‘Art’ that allows outsider artwork, but not the outsider artist, to participate in the reproduction of fine art conventions. Instrumental attitudes engage outsider artwork and perceptions of madness as forms of cultural and social capital in the Bourdieuian sense. The curators of Almost There operated with an investigative attitude, seeking to understand the social conditions influencing the artist as well as the artist’s sociality and intent. Investigative fields such as documentary production and psychiatry situate outsider art historically, as art practice, and subjective expression. I argue each attitude strategically engages the label of outsider art to both negotiate and question hierarchical relationships. The imperfect fit of the Almost There exhibit in the category of outsider art demonstrates the limitations of current conceptions of artistic merit and mental health.

Going AWOL: Alternative Responses to PTSD Stigma in the U.S. Military

by Field Notes: A Journal of Collegiate Anthropology

By Katinka Hooyer

Published in Field Notes: A Journal of Collegiate Anthropology 4(1): 106-128. (May 2012)
Copyright ©2012 by Field Notes: A Journal of Collegiate Anthropology

The psychiatric costs of war have contributed to an ‘epidemic of suicide’ linked to PTSD among United States military... more The psychiatric costs of war have contributed to an ‘epidemic of suicide’ linked to PTSD among United States military service personnel. Current research identifies ‘self-stigma as the barrier to care’ and dominant thinking surrounding interventions focuses on overcoming self- stigma to obtain mental health services. The research and programming is grounded in leading social- cognitive and behavioral models that focus on individual interactions. This descriptive analysis of high-profile AWOL cases provides a counter-narrative to this predominant biomedical discourse. In these cases, soldiers chance increased stigmatization through risking dishonorable discharge in their pursuit of care. The question emerges, is lack of help-seeking taking place due to self-stigmatizing or due to broader structural elements that restrict choices? And more critically, are dominant theories of health behavior that focus on individual choice relevant in contexts where there is limited autonomy? Preliminary ethnographic research with veterans and active duty soldiers in addition to content analysis of online military blogs and investigative news reports explore these questions. Anthropological models are introduced to provide a more fixed consideration of structural influences on individuals’ actions and to offer an alternative approach to intervention.

Almost There: A Portrait of Peter Anton Cultural reproduction, attitudes, and meaning in the category of outsider art

by Field Notes: A Journal of Collegiate Anthropology

By Andrea Fritsch

Published in Field Notes: A Journal of Collegiate Anthropology 4(1): 87-105. (May 2012)
Copyright ©2012 by Field Notes: A Journal of Collegiate Anthropology

An analysis of the debate surrounding the art exhibit Almost There: A Portrait of Peter Anton at Intuit: The Center... more An analysis of the debate surrounding the art exhibit Almost There: A Portrait of Peter Anton at Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art in 2010 reveals sets of actors with competing interests and claims on the term outsider art. I explore the public fascination with madness and outsider art, suggesting actors engage outsider art in three attitudes—aesthetic, instrumental and investigative. Aesthetic attitudes operate within an expanded definition of official ‘Art’ that allows outsider artwork, but not the outsider artist, to participate in the reproduction of fine art conventions. Instrumental attitudes engage outsider artwork and perceptions of madness as forms of cultural and social capital in the Bourdieuian sense. The curators of Almost There operated with an investigative attitude, seeking to understand the social conditions influencing the artist as well as the artist’s sociality and intent. Investigative fields such as documentary production and psychiatry situate outsider art historically, as art practice, and subjective expression. I argue each attitude strategically engages the label of outsider art to both negotiate and question hierarchical relationships. The imperfect fit of the Almost There exhibit in the category of outsider art demonstrates the limitations of current conceptions of artistic merit and mental health.

Antropologia applicata all'invervento psicoterapeutico. L'esperienza del Centre Georges Dévereux

by Stefano Portelli

Published in (con)textos. revista d’antropologia i investigació social, Número 3. Juny de 2009. Pàgines 84-98. ISSN: 2013-0864
http://www.con-textos.net

Si descrivono qui alcuni dei presupposti teorici e dei dispositivi pratici attraverso i quali si sviluppa l'attività... more Si descrivono qui alcuni dei presupposti teorici e dei dispositivi pratici attraverso i quali si sviluppa l'attività del Centre Georges Dévereux, fondato a Parigi dallo psichiatra Tobie Nathan e orientato alla prise en charge di pazienti migranti. La necessità di evitare le semplificazioni nella traduzione tra le culture ha portato Nathan e il gruppo di professionisti del Centro a elaborare una teoria critica della modernità e del paradigma psichiatrico corrente, a partire dagli insegnamenti dell'antropologia contemporanea e dalla necessità di aiutare la disciplina psicanalitica ad affrontare le sfide della contemporaneità. Per l'antropologia, l'etnopsichiatria rappresenta una possibilità concreta di contribuire alla costruzione di un sapere pratico.

Colic: A Culture-Bound Syndrome

by Bridget McGann

This paper discusses the evolutionary, physiological, and cultural dimensions of the long-evolved infant communication... more This paper discusses the evolutionary, physiological, and cultural dimensions of the long-evolved infant communication system, in particularly with regards to the tendency of Western infants towards excessive crying. Is there some kind of reason that millions of parents must lose so much sleep during their childbearing years? It draws on the work of Ronald Barr of the University of British Columbia, James McKenna of the University of Notre Dame, Sarah Hrdy of UC Davis and others to discuss how the development of the bipedal pelvis and the increasing size of the cranium resulted in a human infant that is uniquely vulnerable among mammals, and the adaptations that it developed in order to survive.  I explore the finely-tuned communication system wherein the infant regulates it's internal state by making noise (crying) to attract the attention of caregivers.  This particular adaptation has come into conflict with the Western lifestyle, manifesting itself as colic, which I believe to be not a pathological condition as it is considered by Western biomedicine, but a culture-bound system unique to that culture. Understanding infant behavior from an evolutionary perspective and applying more biologically appropriate caregiving strategies may be therapeutic for infants who are diagnosed with colic.  This research has implications in the field of Applied Anthropology, in the clinical practice of pediatricians and, possibly most importantly, aiding in the prevention of Shaken Baby Syndrome.

Evidence for the Undead

by Leo Ruickbie

in Barbara Brodman and James E. Doan (eds), The Universal Vampire: Origins and Evolution of a Legend (Rowman & Littlefield, forthcoming)

Academic analysis of the role of medical investigation in the 18th century vampire epidemic. Academic analysis of the role of medical investigation in the 18th century vampire epidemic.

Vampire Autopsies

by Leo Ruickbie

Fortean Times, issue 288 (Special, 2012)

In the eighteenth century medical investigations of alleged vampires were conducted by military surgeons serving in... more In the eighteenth century medical investigations of alleged vampires were conducted by military surgeons serving in the Habsburg army in Serbia. Their reports seemed to confirm the existence of the vampire to the general astonishment of Europe. This article examines the context and impact of these reports before proposing an explanation for these remarkable findings.

How the Practice and its Patients Make Therapeutic Poetry–From Normative to Narrative and Palliative to Posthumous

by Russell Kabir

Ethnobotany in intermedical spaces: the case of the Fulni-ô indians (Northeastern Brazil)

by Gustavo Soldati

Gustavo Taboada Soldati; Ulysses Paulino de Albuquerque

Chamberlain, K., Madden, H., Gabe, J., Dew, K. & Norris, P. (2011). Forms of resistance to medications within New Zealand households. Medische Antropologie, 23(2), 299-308.

by Kerry Chamberlain

Although considerable research documents resistance to medicines, much of this focuses on specific types of... more Although considerable research documents resistance to medicines, much of this focuses on specific types of medication, particularly psychotropic medication, and seeks to classify users of medication, frequently as resisters or rejecters. However, this research tends to overlook the varieties and subtleties of resistance to medications that can occur. In this paper, we explore the varied forms of resistance to medications reported by lay people taking diverse forms of medication. Data were gathered within fifty-five diverse households using multiple methods. Findings document the wide range of ways that medications are resisted. These are discussed in terms of the variability of resistance, its functionality and the logic of care that resistances can manifest.

“Designer Genes and a Trendy DNA Helicase” : The Unraveling of the Genetic Code and the Nuclear Family

by Kristianne C. Anor

This paper examines the unraveling of the nuclear family due to a trendy and new DNA Helicase - ARTs. This paper examines the unraveling of the nuclear family due to a trendy and new DNA Helicase - ARTs.