Programs for Educational Anthropology / Anthropology of the Study of Medicine

[yezzy123]

Hello Everyone,

I would like to get a PhD in anthropology and my interests are in a very niche area. I want to study the anthropology of becoming a healer in the modern world. I want to study comparative medical education and the cultural concepts within and outside of medical schools. Does anyone know of programs or scholars that are involved in this type of research, specifically or broadly? I have searched the internet and come up with relatively little.

I also have a preference for warmer states since I'll be studying for 4-7 years (minimum). I am about 1-2 years out from applying, so I am not in a hurry. I just want to start considering my options.

Thanks.

[knp]

Surely some of the semi-plentiful programs in medical anthropology have faculty who could supervise this project? It's true that it's a topic that's less represented than I would have guessed—I checked the UCSF/Berkeley faculty first and I didn't see anyone directly relevant, but I wonder if someone is close enough to supervise you if there's also a sociocultural anthropologist of education at Berkeley. But I think people with this interest must exist! During further googling just now, Barry Saunders at UNC popped up as just the sort of person I think you're looking for.

So although I can't recommend any other programs specifically, I do recommend starting your search in programs of medical anthropology. If I were you, at some point in the next year or two, I'd go through all the faculty of all/many of the programs in anthropology that offer a medical specialization and of all the programs in medical anthropology. People must study this! And I think medical anthropology is the one of the more likely places to find them.

[catcatcatdog]

Tanya Luhrmann at Stanford has looked at the education/professionalization of American psychiatrists; Stefan Ecks at Edinburgh has also examined this, albeit to a lesser extent, in India. Cristina Grasseni (used to be at Harvard, now back in Europe, I think?) has looked at the ways in which surgeons are trained to see patient bodies. I'm not familiar with Barry Saunders' work, but yeah, he looks promising for your interests. These are just a few names off the top of my head, though, and knp is right -- if you keep searching, you'll find other people studying this. And just to dispel any doubts -- a professor by no means has to share your precise research interests to be an appropriate or adequate supervisor! Some overlap is necessary, of course, but at the end of the day, you want to stake out your own little turf, not exclusively play on someone else's.

[yezzy123]

Thank you knp and catcatcatdog! These are great places to start.

 

[farflung]

You will definitely want to read Clare Wendland's book, A Heart for the Work: Journeys through an African Medical School (a classic in your line of inquiry) and Summerson Carr's Scripting Addiction. Indiana and U Penn both tend to be strong on the anthropology of education front, although I agree with the comments above that your work is probably best located and framed within medical anthropology. Start with med anthros, see what kind of interests they express in your research plans, then try to find a program where faculty are also interested in the anthropology of education, anthropology of expertise, etc.

Edited February 20, 2016 by farflung