BA in Anthropology with a Concentration in Medical Anthropology, Ethics, and Care
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)
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
RELG 2650 Theological Bioethics
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.
Suggested courses for the Summer and Fall of 2025
Summer 2025
Pre-approved courses
Other departments/programs
MDST 3409 – LGBTQ Issues in the Media
Courses to be approved with SIS exception form
Other departments/programs
AMST 4601 – Gender, Race, and the Prison
MDST 3662 – Disability and the Media
PLAP 3160 – The Politics of Food
SOC 3350 – Drugs in American Society
Fall 2025
Pre-approved courses
Anthropology
ANTH 2280 – Medical Anthropology
ANTH 2620 – Sex, Gender, and Culture
ANTH 3290 – Life, Technology and the Contemporary Condition (formerly:
Biopolitics and the Contemporary Condition
ANTH 3589 – Bones and Bodies (fulfills Archeology subfield requirement)
Other departments/programs
MDST/WGS 3305 – LGBTQ Issues in the Media
PHIL 1740 – Issues of Life and Death
SOC 3700 – Health, Illness, and Inequality
Courses to be approved with SIS exception form
Anthropology
ANTH 3332 – Anthropology of Disability
ANTH 5999 – The Anthropology of Care: Bodies, Relationality, and Moral
Worlds[1]
Other departments/programs
GSGS 2400 – Mass Migration and Global Development
GSGS 4410 – Body Migrant
WGS 3305 – LGBTQ Issues in the Media
PHIL 2820 – Philosophy of Health and Health Care
PHS 3050 – Fundamentals of Public Health
PHS 3186 – Comparative Health Care Systems
PHS 3620 – Built Environment & Health Impact
PHS 3825 – Global Public Health: Challenges and Innovations
SOC 2280 – Medical Sociology
SOC 4280 – Sociology of Mental Health and Illness
[1] Anthropology majors are allowed to take a 5000-level course instead of a major seminar. SIS has been having a hard time processing this new course. If you are interested, know that it is scheduled for 2.5 hours late Wednesday afternoons.
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.