This course focuses on the place of culture in understanding illness and responses to illness around the world. It draws on medical anthropology and other disciplinary approaches to explore constructions of health, health seeking  and health care in cross-cultural perspective.

2hrs per week, weekly for 10 weeks

None

None

Assessment will be through coursework which could include essay, class presentation and group work - total 4,000 words. The assessment makes up the elements of the independent study of the course, as well as class preparation time.

There will be two summative assessments: SA1 (25%) comprises a 1000 word reflexive piece and SA2 (75%) a 3000 word essay.

The principal aim is provide students with the knowledge and skills to describe and critique health and health care practices and policy. More specifically, the module aims to examine the theoretical and empirical basis of medical anthropology and other relevant disciplines as applied to health and health care.

■ To provide the students with a sound broad understanding of key issues in contemporary medical anthropology and other disciplinary perspectives;

■ To enable the students to reflect critically on health disparity both globally and nationally;

■ To explore the political implications of contrasting models of health and wellness;

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Demonstrate an awareness of global diversity in health systems and practice;

■ Articulate a critical understanding of global and regional health inequalities;

■ Discuss and critically compare anthropological and other analyses of disease and health management;

■ Effectively analyse ways in which health, illness and disease are constructed cross-culturally;

■ Demonstrate an awareness of the ethical, methodological and policy issues raised by social scientific research into health and illness;

■ Critically evaluate and compare different systems of thought and behaviour;

■ Structure ideas effectively both orally and in written forms, work effectively independently and in groups, and develop effective time management skills.

Generic regulations apply