ANTHR 4682

ANTHR 4682

Course information provided by the 2020-2021 Catalog.

Therapeutic knowledge and practice in Africa have changed dynamically over the past century. Yet, questions about healing continue to be questions about the intimate ways that power works on bodies. Accounts of healing and medicine on the continent describe ongoing struggles over what counts as knowledge and who has the authority to intervene in social and physical threats. This class will discuss the expansion of biomedicine in Africa, the continuities and changes embodied in traditional medicine, and the shifting relationship between medicine, science and law. Our readings with trace how colonialism, post-independence nationalism, international development, environmental change and globalization have shaped the experience of illness, debility and misfortune today, as well as the possibilities for life, the context of care, and the meaning of death.


Prerequisites/Corequisites Prerequisite: at least one course in Social Sciences or Humanities.

Distribution Category (CA-AS, GLC-AS, SSC-AS)

When Offered Fall.

Breadth Requirement (GB)

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none
  • 16914 ANTHR 4682   SEM 101

    • F Savage Hall 100
    • Sep 2 - Dec 16, 2020
    • Langwick, S

  • Instruction Mode: In Person Transition to Online

    Enrollment limited to students who are able to attend in-person classes in the Ithaca area.

Syllabi: none
  • 20248 ANTHR 4682   SEM 102

    • F Online Meeting
    • Sep 2 - Dec 16, 2020
    • Langwick, S

  • Instruction Mode: Online