Entry requirements

A Bachelor's degree, equivalent to a Swedish Kandidatexamen, from an internationally recognised university

Learning outcomes

This course aims to develop advanced discussions and students' knowledge of contemporary issues in the field of medical anthropology.

After accomplishing the course the student is expected to:

• Demonstrate a capacity to evaluate and critique the current debate concerning medical anthropology and its relationship to biomedicine, public health and policy.
• Understand the specific paradigms used by medical anthropologists when conducting anthropological research and in interdisciplinary collaborations.
• Acquire knowledge and understanding of current research being undertaken by medical anthropologists in different countries and scholarly traditions.
• Be able to identify appropriate material in anthropological journals, making use of electronic databases etc. to trace the history of a current topic or debate through the existing literature.

Content

The course will examine the scope of medical anthropology and its relation to biomedicine, public health and international health policy, as fields of investigation and/or collaboration. Privileging a critical medical anthropological approach the course will consider the implications of carrying out research within a biomedical context, whether in the global north or the global south. We will examine the challenges medical anthropologists face in research collaborations with public health, international health organisations, and medical professionals. Issues to be examined may include one or more of the following: 'the body', digital health, mental health, hospital ethnography, pharmaceuticals, anatomy, assisted reproductive technologies, medical anthropological schools, etc. Each contemporary issue will focus on the analysis of a monograph, with supporting journal articles.

Instruction

The course consists of one or more of the following sessions: lectures, seminars, presentations, and debates. Language of instruction is English. In these sessions, you will also need to draw regularly on concepts and empirical data studies acquired during previous courses - both to aid in your understanding of the 'current issues' you are presented with here and also to demonstrate that you are capable of synthesizing and assessing a wide range of related material.

Assessment

The examination will be in one or more of the following formats: home exam, essay writing, group work, seminar presentation, active seminar participation and/or oral exam. The grades are pass with distinction (VG), pass (G), or fail (U).