Anthropology of Health
Code: 107250Credits: 6
| Degree programme | Type | Course |
|---|---|---|
| Social and Cultural Anthropology | OB | 3 |
Contact lecturer
- Name :
- Bruna Alvarez Mora
- Email :
- bruna.alvarez@uab.cat
Teaching staff
- Diana Marre Cifola
- Ana Cerezuela González
Group languages
You can consult this information at the end of the document.
Prerequisites
This course has no prerequisites.
Objectives
- Describe the scope of the anthropology of health and medical anthropology, through the description of their theoretical areas and with examples of ethnographic research.
- Analyze how the relationship between biology and culture constructs and produces health systems.
- Analyze the social constructions of illness, well-being, and sickness and disease.
- Apply the anthropological perspective to contemporary health problems.
- Incorporate a gender and intersectional perspective in the analysis of health systems.
Learning outcomes
- CM20 (Evaluate contemporary phenomena with the use of concepts, theories and methods from specialised thematic fields in anthropology.) Evaluate contemporary phenomena with the use of concepts, theories and methods from specialised thematic fields in anthropology.
- CM21 (Acquire knowledge related to specialised topics in anthropology for use in conveying information.) Acquire knowledge related to specialised topics in anthropology for use in conveying information.
- KM20 (Identify interdisciplinary trends in the specialised thematic areas of anthropology.) Identify interdisciplinary trends in the specialised thematic areas of anthropology.
- KM21 (Identify the theoretical proposals of the thematic fields specialised in Anthropology for the understanding of social and cultural phenomena or problems.) Identify the theoretical proposals of the thematic fields specialised in Anthropology for the understanding of social and cultural phenomena or problems.
- KM23 (Identify the contributions of specialised areas of anthropology to face contemporary challenges.) Identify the contributions of specialised areas of anthropology to face contemporary challenges.
- KM24 (Compare and contrast information related to practical cases of interventions in different contexts and specialised thematic areas of anthropology.) Compare and contrast information related to practical cases of interventions in different contexts and specialised thematic areas of anthropology.
- SM27 (Explain current interdisciplinary developments in specialised anthropological fields to analyse knowledge of local and global contexts.) Explain current interdisciplinary developments in specialised anthropological fields to analyse knowledge of local and global contexts.
- SM28 (Apply the concepts, methods and theories of the specialised thematic fields in anthropology to the interpretation of current problems.) Apply the concepts, methods and theories of the specialised thematic fields in anthropology to the interpretation of current problems.
- SM29 (Use the ethnographic corpus in specialised anthropological fields for cultural criticism and reflection on complex problems.) Use the ethnographic corpus in specialised anthropological fields for cultural criticism and reflection on complex problems.
- SM30 (Apply theoretical knowledge to the study of complex problems related to the specialised thematic fields of anthropology.) Apply theoretical knowledge to the study of complex problems related to the specialised thematic fields of anthropology.
Contents
1. Basic concepts in anthropology of health
2. Social determinants of health and inequalities
3. Anthropology of health and medical anthropology
4. The body in biomedicine
5. Anthropology of reproductive health
6. Hospital ethnography
7. Applications of anthropology in biomedicine
Learning activities and methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theoretical lectures | 30 | 1.2 | CM20, CM21, KM20, KM21, KM23, KM24, SM27, SM28, SM29, SM30 |
| Group tutorials and information sessions | 5 | 0.2 | CM20, CM21, KM20, KM21, KM23, KM24, SM27, SM28, SM29, SM30 |
| Individual study | 36 | 1.44 | CM20, CM21, KM20, KM21, KM23, KM24, SM27, SM28, SM29, SM30 |
This Teaching Guide contains all the information related to the course, which is why it is the only document to consult regarding any doubts about the course and its assessment.
The protagonist of the teaching-learning process is the student, and under this premise, a methodology based on continuous work has been planned.
Regarding the sessions:
The course will be developed through face-to-face directed sessions, supervised sessions, and autonomous work.
Attendance is compulsory, with a minimum of 80% of the sessions required, if not the course cannot be evaluated.
Face-to-face sessions will always be held with the entire class group and will be dedicated to the presentation of the course contents by the teaching staff and invited professionals.
In face-to-face sessions, the active participation of the student group in the analysis and discussion of the topics proposed by the teaching staff will be valued.
Autonomous work:
It includes activities such as the comprehensive and analytical reading and study of texts, the analytical viewing of audiovisual materials, the search for bibliographic references, information research, observation, and writing, among others.
Tutorials:
The supervised sessions will be face-to-face or virtual (by prior appointment), aimed at monitoring the course and carrying out assessment activities. It is recommended to attend at least one tutorial throughout the course for proper follow-up.
Regarding communication:
Communication regarding the course will be carried out through the Virtual Campus.
Regarding written assignments:
Written assignments will be completed in the classroom:
- They must be identified with the NIU (University Identification Number).
- They may be written in Catalan, Spanish, or English.
- No spelling or grammatical errors.
- With citations, notes, references, and bibliography in APA 7 format.
Correction criteria:
- Quality of presentation, format, writing, and bibliographic references in APA 7.
- Comprehension, breadth, and depth of the analysis of the bibliography, presentations, and viewings.
- Connection with the concepts of the course.
- Presentation of an articulated text through coherent and academically substantiated argumentation.
- Linking the presentations, bibliographies, and/or viewings with ethnographic examples from the press, one's own experience, or ethnographic observation.
Grading scale:
- 0: Submission after the deadline without a duly accredited justification.
- 1–4.9: Submission not based on the required analytical materials or based solely on a description/summary of the proposed materials.
- 5–6.9: Submission of an articulated academic text based on the proposed materials.
- 7–8.9: Submission based on the proposed materials, incorporating additional materials or ethnographic examples, experience, press, and observation.
- 9–10: Submission based on the proposed materials, incorporating additional materials and ethnographic examples, experience, press, and observation.
Fifteen minutes of one class session will be reserved, within the schedule established by the center/degree program, for students to complete the teaching staff and course/module evaluation surveys.
Use of AI
Restricted use: For this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted exclusively for support tasks such as text correction, translations, or other specific situations that must be agreed upon with the teaching staff through a tutorial. The student must clearly identify which parts have been generated with this technology, specify the tools used, and include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and the final result of the activity. The lack of transparency in the use of AI in assessable activities will be considered academic dishonesty and may result in a partial or total penalty on the grade for the activity, or major sanctions in serious cases.
Assessment
Continuous assessment activities
| Title | Weight | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1: reading assigment | 20% | 12 | 0.48 | CM20, CM21, KM20, KM21, KM23, KM24, SM27, SM28, SM29, SM30 |
| A2: Essay | 40% | 30 | 1.2 | CM20, CM21, KM20, KM21, KM23, KM24, SM27, SM28, SM29, SM30 |
| A4: Attendance and participation | 10% | 12 | 0.48 | CM20, CM21, KM20, KM21, KM23, KM24, SM27, SM28, SM29, SM30 |
| A3: Audovisual product | 30% | 25 | 1 | CM20, CM21, KM20, KM21, KM23, KM24, SM27, SM28, SM29, SM30 |
Continuous Assessment
ACTIVITY 1: Questions on each compulsory reading (20%)
This individual activity aims to encourage the reading of the compulsory texts and the extraction of their key concepts, and it carries a weight of 20% of the final grade for the course.
Each student will have to formulate a critical question about the reading that could open up a debate with the class group.
The compulsory readings are listed in the Bibliography section of this teaching guide.
In order to obtain the percentage corresponding to Activity 1, it is necessary to have completed at least 7 of the 9 available readings within the established deadline.
The dates for completing the readings are: February 11, February 23, March 4, March 16, April 6, April 15, April 27, May 6, and May 13.
ACTIVITY 2: Individual essay (40%)
This is an individual activity aimed at learning to recognise and relate three key concepts arising from three compulsory readings, through a previously prepared essay that will be written in the classroom. Students have the option of bringing whatever materials they deem necessary for writing the essay, on paper and without using any electronic devices. It carries a weight of 40% of the final grade for the course.
The detailed instructions for this activity, as well as its assessment rubric, will be posted on the virtual campus at the start of the course.
The date for this activity is March 18.
ACTIVITY 3: Audiovisual product (30%)
This activity aims to apply the content of the course to a real ethnographic case. Each student must produce an audiovisual product on any medium (audio, video, photography, social media, podcast, etc.) consisting of an interview and an analysis of said interview in light of the theoretical concepts of the course.
It is advisable to attend a tutorial in order to choose the topic and the format of the audiovisual product.
The maximum duration of the audiovisual product is 10 minutes.
The ability to use the theoretical concepts from the readings in relation to the interview will be assessed using a rubric by the teaching staff.
Attendance is compulsory on the three evaluation days:
- May 20
- May 25
- May 27
The detailed instructions for this activity, as well as its assessment rubric, will be posted on the virtual campus at the start of the course.
ACTIVITY 4: Attendance and participation (10%)
Attendance is compulsory and will be taken into account for the assessment of the course.
Single Assessment
The single assessment will consist of a synchronous three-part test on the day and time established by the faculty:
- Activity 1: 4 questions on the compulsory readings (20%). Maximum time: 30 minutes.
- Activity 2: an essay equivalent to Activity 2 of the continuous assessment (40%). Maximum time: 1 hour.
- Activity 3: 2 questions on the content of the course (40%). Maximum time: 30 minutes.
Retake
For students who have failed the course, i.e., those with a final average grade lower than 5 across the set of assessment activities, a retake session will be organised within the period established by UAB regulations (from June 10 to 23).
However, students who have not achieved a minimum grade of 3.5 will not be eligible for the retake.
Not Assessable
In the event that a student has not completed at least 100% of the assessment activities, their final grade will be recorded as "Not Assessable."
Bibliography
Compulsory Readings:
- Good, Byron (2003). Como la medicina construye sus objetos. En Medicina, racionalidad y experiencia. Una perspectiva antropològica (pp. 129-168). Bellaterra.
- Davis-Floyd, Robbie (2001), The technocratic, humanistic, and holistic paradigms of childbirth. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics, 75: S5-S23. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0020-7292(01)00510-0
- Scheper-Hughes, Nancy & Lock, Margaret (1987), The Mindful Body: A Prolegomenon to Future Work in Medical Anthropology. Medical Anthropology Quarterly, 1: 6-41. https://doi.org/10.1525/maq.1987.1.1.02a000204.
- Lewis-Jackson, Sasha; Iob, Eleanora; Giunchiglia, Valentina; Cabral, Jose Roberto ; Romeu-Labayen, Maria; Cooper, Silvie;Makamu, Rirhandzu ; Dorasamy, Cassandra; Ncube, Matthew; Chasara, Romeo; Bautista-González, Elysse; Pérez-Duarte Mendiola, Paulina ; Cavero Huapaya, Victoria; Davies, Megain; Rutz, Florian & Staudacher, Sandra (2022). Policies and Politics: An Analysis of Public Policies Aimed at the Reorganisation of Healthcare Delivery During the COVID-19 Pandemic. In Caring on theFrontline during COVID-19. Contributions from Rapid Qualitative Research (pp. 39-64). Palgrave Macmillan.
- Cerezuela González, Ana; Remorini, Carolina & Marre, Diana (2026). Dialogues of obstetric risk in the first trimester of pregnancy: Insights from a hospital ethnography. Social Science & Medicine, 392, 118985. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2026.118985
- Sideman, Alicia Bernstein & Razon, Na’amah(2024). Extra/ordinary medicine: Toward an anthropology of primary care. Social science & medicine (1982), 346, 116707. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.116707)
- Malgosa, Estel; Marre, Diana & Alvarez, Bruna (2024). Pregnancy and babies versus penises and intercourse: gender differences in 'how babies are made' according to children at two Spanish primary schools. Sexualities, 28(7), 2047-2065. https://doi.org/10.1177/13634607241295998
- Ginsburg, Faye & Rapp, Rayna (1991). The politics of reproduction. Annual Review of Anthropology, 20, 311–343.
- Desy, Alexandra & Marre, Diana (2025). La movilidad reproductiva transfronteriza para sortear los impedimentos a la maternidad [Cross-border reproductive travel to circumvent impediments to motherhood]. Anuário Antropológico, 50. https://doi.org/10.4000/14qwl
Supplementary Readings:
Ariès, Pierre ([1975]. 2011). Historia de la muerte en Occidente: De la Edad Media hasta nuestros días. El Acantilado.
Baer, H. A., Singer, M., & Johnsen, J. H. (1986). Toward a critical medical anthropology. Social Science & Medicine, 23(2), 95-98. https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-9536(86)90358-8
Benjamin, Walter (1967). Sobre la facultad mimética. En Ensayos escogidos (pp. 105–107). Ed. Sur.
Blanes, Ruy & Espírito Santo, Diana. (Eds.). (2014). The social life of spirits. University of Nebraska Press.
Bloch, Maurice & Parry, Jonathan. (1982). Death and the regeneration of life. Cambridge University Press.
Butler, Judith ([1993]2002). Los cuerpos que importan. En Cuerpos que importan: Sobre los límites materiales y discursivos del "sexo" (pp. 53–94). Paidós.
Carrithers, Michael; Collins, Steven & Lukes, Steveb. (Eds.). The category of the person: Anthropology, philosophy, history. Cambridge University Press.
Carsten, Janet. (2007). How do we know who we are? En R. Astuti, J. Parry, & C. Stafford (Eds.), Questions of anthropology (pp. 22–54). Berghahn Books.
Canguilhem, G. (1971). Lo normal y lo patológico. Siglo XXI.
Cerezuela González, A., Remorini, C., & Marre, D. (2026). Dialogues of obstetric risk in the first trimester of pregnancy: Insights from a hospital ethnography. Social Science & Medicine, 392, 118985. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2026.118985
Cerruti, Marcela. (Coord.). (2011). Salud y migración internacional: Mujeres bolivianas en la Argentina. Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD), Centro de Estudios de Población (CENEP), Fondo de Población de las Naciones Unidas (UNFPA).
De Certeau, Michel (2007). Walking the city. En M. Lock & J. Farquhar (Eds.), Beyond the body proper: Reading the anthropology of material life (pp. 249–258). Duke University Press.
Degnen, Cathrine. (2018). Cross-cultural perspectives on personhood and the life course. Palgrave Macmillan.
Delaplace, Grégory. (2011). Enterrer, submerger, oublier: Invention et subversion du souvenir des morts en Mongolie. Raisons Politiques, 41, 87–103.
Deleuze, Giles & Guattari, Felix (2007). We always make love with worlds. En M. Lock & J. Farquhar (Eds.), Beyond the body proper: Reading the anthropology of material life (pp. 428–433). Duke University Press.
Desy, A., & Marre, D. (2025). La movilidad reproductiva transfronteriza para sortear los impedimentos a la maternidad [Cross-border reproductive travel to circumvent impediments to motherhood]. Anuário Antropológico, 50. https://doi.org/10.4000/14qwl
Douglas, Mary (1970). Natural symbols: Explorations in cosmology. The Cresset Press.
Farmer, P. (2003). Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor (1.a ed.). University of California Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt1pnznf
Ferrándiz, Francisco. (2018). Death on the move: Pantheons and reburials in the Spanish Civil War exhumations. En A. Robben (Ed.), A companion to the anthropology of death (pp. 189–204). Wiley-Blackwell.
Foucault, Michel (2000). Clase del 15 de enero de 1975. En Los anormales (pp. 39–59). Fondo de Cultura Económica.
Goffman, Ervin (2001). Estigma: La identidad deteriorada (Obra original publicada en 1963). Amorrortu.
Good, Byron (2003). Medicina, racionalidad y experiencia. Una perspectiva antropológica. Bellaterra.
Kaufert, Patricia & O'Neil, John. (1993). Analysis of a dialogue on risks in childbirth : clinicians, epidemiologists, and Inuit women. Knowledge, Power, and Practice : The Anthropology of Medicine and Everyday Life.
Landecker, Hannah. (2011). Food as exposure: Nutritional epigenetics and the new metabolism. BioSocieties, 6(2), 167–194.
Lock, Margaret (2002). Twice dead: Organ transplants and the reinvention of death. University of California Press.
Lock, Margaret (2007). Alienation of body parts and the biopolitics of immortalized cells. En M. Lock & J. Farquhar (Eds.), Beyond the body proper: Reading the anthropology of material life (pp. 567–586). Duke University Press.
Lock, Margaret & Farquhar, Judith (2007). Beyond the body proper: Reading the anthropology of material life. Duke University Press.
Martínez, Angel (2008). Antropología médica: Teorías sobre la cultura, el poder y la enfermedad. Anthropos.
McIntyre, Matthew H., & Edwards, Caroline Pope. P. (2009). The early development of gender differences. Annual Review of Anthropology, 38(1), 83–97.
Menéndez, Eduardo. (1982). El modelo médico hegemónico: Transacciones y alternativas hacia una fundamentación del modelo de autoatención en salud. Arxiu d'Etnografia de Catalunya, 3, 83–120.
Menéndez, Eduardo (1990) Antropología médica. Orientaciones, desigualdades y transacciones. México, Cuadernos de la Casa Chata.
Morgan, Lynn (1989). When does life begin? A cross-cultural perspective on the personhood of fetuses and young children. En E. Doerr & J. Prescott (Eds.), Abortion and fetal "personhood" (pp. 97–114). Centerline Press.
Morgan, Lynn (2011). Fetal bodies, undone. En F. Mascia-Lees (Ed.), A companion to the anthropology of the body and embodiment (pp. 320–337). Wiley-Blackwell.
Münster, Daniel & Broz, Ludek. (2015). The anthropology of suicide: Ethnography and the tension of agency. En L. Broz & D. Münster (Eds.), Suicide and agency: Anthropological perspectives on self-destruction, personhood, and power (pp. 3–22). Ashgate.
Plonowska, Ewa. (2012). Bare life. En Henry Sussman (Ed.), Impasses of the post-global: Theory in the era of climate change (pp. 194–201). Open Humanities Press.
Rapp, Rayna (2007). Real time fetus: The role of the sonogramin the age of monitored reproduction. En M. Lock & J. Farquhar (Eds.), Beyond the body proper: Reading the anthropology of material life (pp. 608–622). Duke University Press.
Remorini, Carolina (2010). Crecer en movimiento: Abordaje etnográfico de la crianza y el desarrollo infantil en comunidades Mbya (Misiones, Argentina). Revista Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales sobre Niñez y Juventud, 8(2), 961–980.
Robben, Antonious. (2018). A companion to the anthropology of death. Wiley-Blackwell.
Rose, Nicolas (2007). Biopolitics in the twenty-first century. En The politics of life itself: Biomedicine, power, and subjectivity in the twenty-first century (pp. 9–40). Princeton University Press.
Rosenhan, David. (1990). Acerca del estar sano en un medio enfermo. En P. Watzlawick (Ed.), La realidad inventada (pp. 99-119). Gedisa.
Sargent, Carolyn & Johnson, Thomas. (Eds.). (1996). Medical anthropology: Contemporary theory and method. Praeger.
Scheper-Hughes, Nancy (2005). El comercio infame: Capitalismo milenarista, valores humanos y justicia global en el tráfico de órganos. Revista de Antropología Social, 14, 195–236.
Singer, Merrill & Baer, Hans. (1995). Critical medical anthropology. Baywood Publishing Company.
Stewart, Michael. (2007). How does genocide happen? En R. Astuti, J. Parry, & C. Stafford (Eds.), Questions of anthropology (pp. 249–280). Berghahn Books.
Taussig, Michel. (1995). Un gigante en convulsiones: El mundo humano como sistema nervioso en emergencia permanente. Gedisa.
Tronto, J. C., & Fisher, B. (1990). Toward a Feminist Theory of Caring. En E. Abel & M. Nelson (Eds.), Circles of Care (pp. 36-54). SUNY Press.
Software
Use of AI
Restricted use: For this module, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted exclusively for support tasks such as text correction, translations or other specific situations, which must be agreed with the teaching staff during a tutorial. Students must clearly identify which parts have been generated using this technology, specify the tools used and include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and the final outcome of the activity. A lack of transparency regarding the use of AI in assessed activities will be considered a breach of academic integrity and may result in a partial or total deduction from the mark for the activity, or more severe sanctions in serious cases.
Course groups and languages
The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE
| Type of teaching | Group | Language | Semester | Shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (TE) Theory | 1 | Catalan/Spanish | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 1 | Catalan/Spanish | second semester | morning-mixed |