medical anthropology / ethnobothany

New book: Divination and Healing: Potent Vision

Published on April 1, 2005 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, books, medical anthropology / ethnobothany, religion cosmology

Tucson Weekly

Divination and Healing: Potent Vision, a scholarly collection of articles from the University of Arizona Press, examines a number of divinatory systems in Africa, Asia and the Americas. Divination is present, to some extent, in all cultures, ranging from well-known types like astrology, tarot and a variety of psychic activities, to those a bit more arcane, involving such diverse phenomenon as umbilical cords, comet tails, bouncing pearls, roosters, rats and cheese.

For the most part, social scientists have viewed these pursuits from a materialist perspective, seeing them as the illusionary byproducts of the human desire for control in a perilous and unpredictable world. However, in recent years, anthropologists have begun reassessing divinatory frameworks and the subjective meaning they have for participants, because of the growing recognition that many of these techniques actually work. >> continue

Tucson Weekly

Cultural values and the spreading of AIDS in Africa

Published on December 1, 2004 by lorenz Posted in Africa, anthropology in the news, culture traditions, gender, medical anthropology / ethnobothany

Christian Science Monitor

Awareness levels around the world are higher than they’ve ever been, but so is the pace at which the virus spread, according to the report. The real hurdle, say observers, is translating awareness into behavior change, and the effort often runs up against longstanding and strongly held cultural values.

African men who have become disempowered through a history of colonialism, racism, and poor economic prospects are unwilling to give up the power they hold over women, says Suzanne Leclerc-Madlala, head of anthropology at South Africa’s University of KwaZulu-Natal.

“I don’t think we’re putting enough emphasis on changing men’s behavior,” says Ms. Leclerc-Madlala. She says a key solution is for male African leaders – whether politicians, sports figures, or traditional rulers – to take a stand, admit publicly that men’s behavior is a problem, and urge men to change. >> continue

Christian Science Monitor

Awareness levels around the world are higher than they've ever been, but so is the pace at which the virus spread, according to the report. The real hurdle, say observers, is translating awareness into behavior change, and the…

Poverty and health policies: Listening to the poor in Bangladesh

Published on September 7, 2004 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, Asia, development empowerment, medical anthropology / ethnobothany, politics, poverty

Medical anthropologist Sabina Faiz Rashid, The Daily Star Bangladesh

The assumption often among policymakers is that mere provision of health services and better choices will improve health of the poor. Universal education in public health and biology and the availability of Western medical care are seen as preferred forms of intervention to improve the health situation of the country. However, throughout my fieldwork, I was confronted by overwhelming structural and social inequalities which have led to high unemployment, crime, widespread substance abuse and the breakdown of family networks and marital relations in slums.

For the poor, health cannot be separated from social and political — economic conditions of everyday life. If we truly want to see improvements in the health of poor women and men in Bangladesh, we need a more radical and broader based approach to health, where social and economic justice need to be an integral part of medicine and public health interventions. >> continue

Medical anthropologist Sabina Faiz Rashid, The Daily Star Bangladesh

Do doctors simply cure or can they heal?

Published on August 17, 2004 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, medical anthropology / ethnobothany

Cape Times, South Africa

Dr Cecil Helman, born in Cape Town, is a family practitioner, anthropologist and the author of the widely used text book Cultural Dimensions of Illness used in all major universities in Britain and over 120 medical schools in America. He believes the Western medical model is insufficient and traditional medicine is slowly and surely going up a cul-de-sac.

According to Helman, reductionism is at the core of modern medicine and is driving it into a lung, a heart or an artery and away from a whole person. It reduces the complex idea of human suffering down to the disease of a particular organ, distorting the picture as it does. >>continue

Cape Times, South Africa

New Research Study about Traditional Folk Knowledge related to Plants in Albania

Published on August 5, 2004 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, culture traditions, Europe, fieldwork / methods, medical anthropology / ethnobothany

OneWorld Southeast Europe

The overall goal of this project is to provide information, data and instruments to NGOs and policy makers about the persistence of high-quality folk know-hows on local plant foods and herbal medicines, which could be used in the future for promoting and implement eco-touristic activities and for improving bio-cultural conservation and rural development of Northern Albania, especially in the framework of the initiative “Balkan Peace Park” project..

It will be used traditional methodologies of the social and cognitive anthropology, and ethnobiology as well. >>continue

OneWorld Southeast Europe