Students
ANTH2002 – Illness and Healing
2020 – Session 2, Fully online/virtual
Notice
As part of Phase 3 of our return to campus plan, most units will now run tutorials, seminars and other small group learning activities on campus for the second half-year, while keeping an online version available for those students unable to return or those who choose to continue their studies online.
To check the availability of face to face activities for your unit, please go to timetable viewer. To check detailed information on unit assessments visit your unit's iLearn space or consult your unit convenor.
General Information
Download as PDF
| Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Kalpana Ram
Tutor
Daniel Tranter
Payel Ray
|
|---|---|
| Credit points |
Credit points
10
|
| Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
(ANTH150 or ANTH1050) or 40cp at 1000 level or above
|
| Corequisites |
Corequisites
|
| Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
|
| Unit description |
Unit description
This course introduces us to a perspective on illness and healing that opens up when we give central importance to human experiences of what it is to be ill or to be healed. This means that we do not necessarily have to choose between biology and sociology, between individual and culture. These elements get integrated – and this is insight comes through in the more holistic understandings of “alternative” therapies as well as in the accounts we have of healing traditions from around the world. But how and where does this integration occur? To answer this, we need to refer to experience, both individual and collective. The course will therefore give priority to richly experiential accounts made available in ethnographies, as well as in other kinds of writing such as literature and introduce us to a perspective called phenomenology. As we seek to understand the wide variety of ways in which different cultural histories have understood what it means to be ill or to be healed, we will necessarily go deeper into some of anthropology’s most fundamental challenge – it tells us that what it means to be ‘human’ is fundamentally a relationship to the world around us, and that world has been understood in very different ways across time and place. |
Important Academic Dates
Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- ULO1: Demonstrate command of anthropological knowledge and theory as it relates to medical anthropology and the broader study of illness and healing practices in their social and cultural contexts.
- ULO2: Identify the processes through which biology, culture, politics, and ecology interact to shape illness and health, health systems, and patterns.
- ULO3: Research, analyse, and represent the illness experience of a person or community, emphasizing the integrative factors (culture, politics, social structure, etc.) influencing the condition.
- ULO4: Identify and apply the theories and concepts of medical anthropology to critically evaluate one’s own culture and determinants of illness and health.
- ULO5: Analyse how illness and health (and normality) are constructed within particular social, cultural, political, and environmental contexts.
- ULO6: Analyse how inequality, social hierarchy, and structural violence generate unequal and often unique health determinants in the global and transnational context.
General Assessment Information
On tutorial assessment:
5% of the 20% is for participation.
The rest is for a written summary of 500 words, covering the main points of the lecture and the tutorial reading. After the summary give a brief report on what you have learned from that week's reading, what you will carry forward into the course, and if you see any application to your experiences/readings elsewhere.
Assessment Tasks
| Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
|---|---|---|---|
| On-line Tutorial Discussion Forum | 20% | No | Weekly, by Wednesday 5pm |
| Essay | 40% | No | (Week 6) 2/9/20 |
| Book Review | 40% | No | (Week 12) 30/10/20 |
On-line Tutorial Discussion Forum
Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 8 hours
Due: Weekly, by Wednesday 5pm
Weighting: 20%
Written participation in on-line weekly Tutorial Discussion Forum
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Demonstrate command of anthropological knowledge and theory as it relates to medical anthropology and the broader study of illness and healing practices in their social and cultural contexts.
- Identify the processes through which biology, culture, politics, and ecology interact to shape illness and health, health systems, and patterns.
- Identify and apply the theories and concepts of medical anthropology to critically evaluate one’s own culture and determinants of illness and health.
- Analyse how illness and health (and normality) are constructed within particular social, cultural, political, and environmental contexts.
- Analyse how inequality, social hierarchy, and structural violence generate unequal and often unique health determinants in the global and transnational context.
Essay
Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: (Week 6) 2/9/20
Weighting: 40%
Essay describing and analyzing illness experience or illness community
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Demonstrate command of anthropological knowledge and theory as it relates to medical anthropology and the broader study of illness and healing practices in their social and cultural contexts.
- Identify the processes through which biology, culture, politics, and ecology interact to shape illness and health, health systems, and patterns.
- Research, analyse, and represent the illness experience of a person or community, emphasizing the integrative factors (culture, politics, social structure, etc.) influencing the condition.
- Identify and apply the theories and concepts of medical anthropology to critically evaluate one’s own culture and determinants of illness and health.
- Analyse how illness and health (and normality) are constructed within particular social, cultural, political, and environmental contexts.
- Analyse how inequality, social hierarchy, and structural violence generate unequal and often unique health determinants in the global and transnational context.
Book Review
Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: (Week 12) 30/10/20
Weighting: 40%
Students will be given a list of 3 ethnographies which contain rich description of healing/illness. Using questions that relate the book to key concepts covered in lectures, students write a review of 3000 words.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Demonstrate command of anthropological knowledge and theory as it relates to medical anthropology and the broader study of illness and healing practices in their social and cultural contexts.
- Identify the processes through which biology, culture, politics, and ecology interact to shape illness and health, health systems, and patterns.
- Research, analyse, and represent the illness experience of a person or community, emphasizing the integrative factors (culture, politics, social structure, etc.) influencing the condition.
- Identify and apply the theories and concepts of medical anthropology to critically evaluate one’s own culture and determinants of illness and health.
- Analyse how illness and health (and normality) are constructed within particular social, cultural, political, and environmental contexts.
- Analyse how inequality, social hierarchy, and structural violence generate unequal and often unique health determinants in the global and transnational context.
1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:
- the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
- the Writing Centre for academic skills support.
2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation
Delivery and Resources
Internal Students will be enrolled in a mix of face to face on campus and zoom for tutorials; and externals will be online ILearn participation.
A Head tutor is appointed to deal with enquiries.
Lecture will be prerecorded.
Library resources availaible
Policies and Procedures
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
- Academic Appeals Policy
- Academic Integrity Policy
- Academic Progression Policy
- Assessment Policy
- Fitness to Practice Procedure
- Grade Appeal Policy
- Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public
- Special Consideration Policy (Note: The Special Consideration Policy is effective from 4 December 2017 and replaces the Disruption to Studies Policy.)
Students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).
Student Code of Conduct
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/getting-started/student-conduct
Results
Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
Student Support
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to help you improve your marks and take control of your study.
The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources.
Student Services and Support
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
Student Enquiries
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
IT Help
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
Changes since First Published
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 20/07/2020 | Submission date of tutorial discussion guide modified |