WHAT IS MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY?

And why would you want to study it?

Because health is about people

And so is anthropology!

Medical Anthropology draws upon social, cultural, biological, and linguistic anthropology to understand such things as…

Photo by Cameron Hay

biocultural aspects of

health and well-being

the experience of illness

the prevention and treatment of sickness

healing processes

the social relations of healing

the pluralism of medical systems

Political march of physicians in Paris, Fall 2010. Photo by Algis Kasniunas

the politics of medicine

reasons for health disparities

rituals of healing

And communication

that affects well-being

MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY AT MIAMI

Prof. Cameron Hay-Rollins

Conducts research on: Dimensions of culture

that impact health and medical decision making

Biocultural processes of sickness and decision making

Healer-patient relationships

Chronic illness Health disparities Resilience and suffering

PhD Emory University, 1998; MA Emory

University, 1992; BA Grinnell College, 1988

ATH 348Introduction to

Medical Anthropology

Think for a moment about the last time you or a loved one was ill. By the end of this course, you will have new insights into the ultimate questions of illness: Why Me? Why now?

ATH 368: Key Questions in Psychological Anthropology

Explore the biocultural makings of

contemporary medical practice and understand

why there is often tension in doctor-patient

relations

Doctors, Clinics

and Epidemi

cs

ATH 378

How do women respond to cultural ideals about their

bodies and what impact do those ideals have on their

actual health?

The highlight of the semester is a formal poster event where

students present their research on an aspect of

women’s health in the modern world.

ATH 428: Anthropology of Women’s Health

As a team, students develop

an innovative grant proposal explaining the

complex issues of a student-chosen

global health problem and

propose a culturally

appropriate and logistically viable intervention to

address it.

Global health is the study of

illness and health as a

consequence of bio-cultural processes that are both local

and global.

ATH 448 Developin

g Solutions in Global Health

WHAT DO MIAMI STUDENTSDO WITH A BACKGROUND IN MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY?

Become ResearchersGo to Medical SchoolPursue Public Health

CareersGo to Graduate School

…and Other Cool Things

Become Researchers

Finishing his BA at Miami in 2010, Nathan Devore took a job as Research Assistant working in the Transdisciplinary Research in Energetics and Colon Cancer Neoplasia Study at Case Western Reserve University.

Become Researchers

Graduating in 2012, anthropology major Meghen Matta is working as an Ethnographic Researcher at the Past Foundation in Columbus.

Go to Medical School

After graduating from Miami in 2010, Aubrey Brink attended Medical Student at the University of Cincinnati.

Go to Medical School

Graduating from Miami in 2010, anthropology major Michelle Fakler attended medical school at at Case Western Reserve University.

Work in Public Health

Graduating in 2011, Ryan Cook spent a year teaching English in China before starting his Masters in Public Health degree at Indiana University.

Work in Public Health

Anthropology major Sarah McKasson graduated in 2010, then studied for her Masters in Public Health degree at Tulane University.

Work in Public Health

2009 graduate Allison Kernohan completed her Masters in Public Health degree at Emory University, and now works for CARE at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, GA.

Work in Public Health

Kerry Logan, who graduated from Miami in 2010, was accepted to the Masters in Public Health degree program at DePaul University.

Graduate School in Anthropology

After graduating in 2009, Hannah Wohltjen completed her MA in anthropology from the University of Kentucky and began a Master’s in Public Health at George Washington University.

Do other exciting things

Anthropology undergraduate Valerie Gascon graduated in 2010, then trained as a Chiropractor.