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BA in Anthropology with a Concentration in Medical Anthropology, Ethics, and Care

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Brooks Hall

B.A. in Anthropology with a Concentration in Medical Anthropology, Ethics, and Care Students in this concentration will study a diverse range of factors that impact the body, and the ways that people understand, experience, and respond to states of health and illness. Students will critically examine the complex ethical orientations that shape the manners in which people care for or abandon one another in various conditions of exposure, vulnerability, and well-being. Anthropological knowledge and practice offer a unique resource for questioning our own assumptions on these and other matters. Students in this Concentration will use such knowledge to address some of the most difficult problems we face today, and in so doing, help create the world anew.

To begin the process of enrolling in this concentration, contact the Medical Anthropology, Ethics, and Care Concentration Advisor.

Requirements:


1. Fulfill all non-elective requirements for the B.A. in Anthropology.

2. When choosing electives toward your Anthropology major, include the following:
a. ANTH 2280 Medical Anthropology
b. 4 additional courses chosen from the Medical Anthropology Concentration
Course List (see below)

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Medical Anthropology Concentration Course List

ANTH 2340       Anthropology of Birth and Death

ANTH 2375       Disaster

ANTH 2270       Race, Gender, And Medical Science

ANTH 2345       Anthropology of Reproduction: Fertility and The Future

ANTH 2430       Anthropology of Birth and Death

ANTH 2285       Saving the World? Development and Humanitarianism

ANTH 3290       Biopolitics

ANTH 3130       Disease, Epidemics and Society

ANTH 3129       Marriage, Mortality, Fertility

ANTH 3240       The Anthropology of Food

ANTH 3370       Power and The Body

ANTH 3440       Language and Emotion

ANTH 3600       Sex, Gender, And Culture

ANTH 3300       Tournaments and Athletes

ANTH 4991       Anthropology, Violence, And, Human Rights

ANTH 5190       Science and Culture

ANTH 5360       World Mental Health

ANTH 5528       Topics in Race Theory

ANTH 5240       Relational Ethics

BIOL 4660         How Do They Do It? Method and Logic in Biomedical Science

BIOL 3090         Our World of Infectious Disease

ENSP 3610        Narratives of Illness and Doctoring Marcia Childress 

HIEU 3321         Scientific Revolution 1450-1700

HIST 2150          Global Environmental History

MDST 3306       Sexuality, Gender, Class and Race in the Teen Film 

MDST 3409       LGBTQ Issues in the Media 

MDST 4108       Media, Drugs, and Violence in Latin America 

PHIL 1740         Issues of Life and Death 

PHIL 3651         Genes, Nature and Justice

PHIL 3780         Reproductive Ethics 

RELG 2650        Theological Bioethics 

SOC 2498          Prozac Culture 

SOC 3700          Health and Society 

SOC 4740          Sociol Persp on Trauma, Atrocity, & Responsibility 

WGS 2848         Reproductive Technology 

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Frequently Asked Questions

How many credits from courses outside of Anthropology can be counted towards the Medical Anthropology Concentration?

6 credits, which usually amounts to 2 courses. When picking electives from outside Anthropology, check our list of approved electives to see if your chosen elective already counts toward your major or speak with your advisor about completing a SIS exception form.

I am a double major. How many courses can overlap between or count towards both of my majors?

  • In most cases, 2 courses can overlap between or count towards both majors
  • If one of your majors is an interdisciplinary major (like Global Studies), 3 courses can overlap between or count towards both majors

I am doing both a major and a minor. How many courses can overlap between or count towards both my major and my minor?

  • In most cases, no courses can overlap between a major and minor.
  • If your minor is an interdisciplinary minor, and you declared your interdisciplinary minor prior to the Fall of 2019, up to 2 courses can overlap between your Anthro major and interdisciplinary minor
  • If your minor is an interdisciplinary minor, and you declared your interdisciplinary minor during or after the Fall of 2019, no courses can overlap between your Anthro major and interdisciplinary minor

I am majoring in Anthropology (with the Medical Anthropology Concentration) and am also doing a Bioethics minor. How many credits can be counted towards both the Medical Anthropology Concentration and the Bioethics Minor?  

  • If you declared your Bioethics Minor before the Fall of 2019, you can count up to 2 courses towards your Anthropology Major and Bioethics Minor
  • If you declared your Bioethics Minor during or after the Fall of 2019, no courses can overlap between your Anthropology Major and Bioethics Minor

I am a double major, and this Anthropology major with a Concentration in Medical Anthropology, Ethics, and Care is my second major. If I need to drop this major, how do I do that and what are the consequences?

In order to drop the second major, you visit the Registrar’s office in Monroe Hall to notify them of your desire to drop the second major. The second major will then disappear from your record with no consequences at all.

What do I do when I find an elective that I think should count towards my Medical Anthropology Concentration but that is not on the list with approved electives?

Let the Concentration Advisor know about this course and send her the course description, syllabus, contact info of the professor, and a short justification for why you think it should count as a Med Anthro elective. If she agrees to count the course, make an appointment with her to fill out an “exception form” to ensure SIS will count the course towards your major and Concentration.

I plan to study abroad for a semester. Can any courses I take abroad count towards my Concentration?

On appropriate topics, in most cases: yes. You can count up to 2 courses (6 credits) that you have taken abroad towards your major and Concentration. Make sure to discuss with the Concentration Advisor whether these courses are eligible. If they are, make an appointment with her to fill out an “exception form” to ensure SIS will count the course towards your major and Concentration.

Can my major seminar count towards the concentration electives?

On appropriate topics, in most cases: yes. Make sure to discuss this with the Concentration Advisor to make sure.

 

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Suggested courses for the J-term and Spring 2025 semester

J-term 2025

 

Courses to be approved with SIS exception form

 

Other departments/programs

PLAP 3160       Politics of Food

WGS 3897       Gender Violence and Social Justice

            SOC 3260        Prozac Culture 

 

 

Spring 2025

 

Pre-approved courses

 

Anthropology

ANTH 2280      Medical Anthropology

ANTH 3240      The Anthropology of Food

ANTH 3290      Biopolitics and the Contemporary Condition

ANTH 3390      Pregnancy, Birthing, Postpartum

ANTH 5360      World Mental Health

 

Other departments/programs

BIOL 3090       Our World of Infectious Disease

PHS 3825         Global Public Health

SOC 3700        Health and Society

 

Courses to be approved with SIS exception form

 

Anthropology

ANTH 3559      Race, Science, and the Law

 

Other departments/programs

AAS 3830        Being Human: Race, Technology, and the Arts

ASL 3410         Contemporary Disability Theory

GSGS 4410      The Body Migrant: Medical Anthropology

KINE 2850       Medical Terminology

KINE 3420       Contemporary Health Issues

KINE 3430       Physical Activities in Health Disparities

PHIL 3710        Ethics

PHIL 3720        Contemporary Ethics

PHIL 3800        Feminist Philosophy

PHS 4050         Public Health Policy

SOC 2520        Topics in Death & Dying

SOC 3320        Sociology of the Body

SOC 4530        Topics in Sociology of Health

 

I am thinking of doing a DMP (Distinguished Major Program). Are there any courses I should take to qualify for that?

Yes, you should take both ANTH 3010 and ANTH 3020.