exam 2 Flashcards
(18 cards)
cartesianism
Author: Descartes
Definition: Descartes idea but tweaked; clear separation between the mind and body; tends to look for a root cause in either the mind or body; allows for medical specialization and thinking about the body as a machine (promotes bioreductionism)
Ex: Carrie’s rash was caused by an allergic reaction/dress’s itchy material, not a reaction from her mind
Stakes: mind/body disconnect gives rise to different medical specialties and advancement of knowledge within these specialties
material-semiotic
Author: Yates Doerr
Definition: Feedback loop of the meanings about things impact the thing itself- the way we relate to something keeps changing it; like enactment- the relationships produce the knowing/thing and bring the phenomena into being; makes distinction between ontological and epistemological
Example: there are real diseases (known by medicine- promotes universality of symptoms), and then there’s the way disease is known (how it is cultural experienced by people)
critique of somatization
Author: Ots
Definition: “It’s all in your head”; bodily manifestation of emotion/stress. Experience and communicate psychological distress in the form of bodily symptoms and seek medical help for them
Ex: Chinese medicine- no search for a root cause- restoration of balance to treat a rash; Carrie’s rash was from her emotion reaction to the dress (represents connection between mind and body)
Critique: Ots believes we need to move beyond somatization, believes in the bodyself (Leib): there is no body that encases the mind, it just is- there is no manifestation
epistemology
Author: Mol
Definition: One way of knowing something (seen as the best way of knowing)
Ontology vs. epistemology: elephant exists vs. study of how we know the elephant (different tools of knowing produce different ways of knowing)
Mol’s critique of epistemology (multiple ontologies): how you know something helps make that thing (existence of a microscope shapes how we can know through that microscope, which in term enacts disease as a real thing); ontology and epistemology should not be split (microscope doesn’t know AC, it actually creates AC as one ontology, and another patient perspective creates a different kind of AC)
Ex: COVID/AC
Stakes: Mol’s argument/concept allows doctors to treat illness better based on their multiple ontologies/realities
enactment
Author: Mol
Definition: different enactments of disease; symptoms are different for everybody
Stakes: helps for a more holistic understanding of health; more specific to the person’s situation
bioethnography
Author: Roberts
Definition: method that doesn’t start out with the hypothesis, first conduct ethnographic study and consider anthropological phenomena, then collect biological data; nature/culture: things that are seen in culture are also informed by nature, and vice versa
Example: Roberts’ sleep survey- initially assumed that everyone had their own bedrooms, but then realized most people shared bedrooms so they adjusted survey questions; then they were surprised to learn that people who shared rooms actually had a higher quality of sleep
Stakes: could help improve public health research when surveying other countries when surveyors are out of context
subject/object
Authors: Descartes
Definition: based upon the premise that our bodies are objects while our minds are active subjects. our minds are thinking, rational subjects that look at inert objects. the body itself is an object that can be looked at and understood. the mind, culture, and activeness are seen as subjective, while objects are passive and related to the body. the
Descartes- clear separation between immaterial mind and material world; Mol- argues a fixed subject-object dualism, suggests that objects in the world don’t have a single, unchanging reality but can be understood in multiple ways, highlighting the fluidity and multiplicity of reality rather than a strict separation between mind and world
sex/sexuality
Author: Foucault
Definition: Ties into biopower- assumes a productive norm for sex/sexuality, don’t deviate from the norm; Foucault claims that sex/sexuality is a social construction- sex/sexuality is generally seen as nature (innate), but it is also culture (social construct)
Ex: management of populations and optimization of society occurs when there is a hegemonic push of heterosexuality; creating sex/sexuality norms and abnorms allows control of reproduction (birth control, construction of sexuality, pap smears, other individual regulations to optimize your own reproductive health)
Stakes: certain things get tied to reproduction and are seen as hegemonic norms; certain things are prioritized in medical procedures/research, ignores people’s actual health
structural competency
Authors: Metzl and Hansen
Definition: Framework for addressing health inequities by recognizing that larger socioeconomic and political factors shape health outcomes; Critiques cultural competency because it’s too individualistic (Bad Sugar- frames poor health practices as a cultural habit- structural competency considers if they have grocery stores nearby)
Ex: central american immigrants who are at risk for diabetes don’t have good access or the ability to exercise even though they know it’s good for them
Stakes: equipping clinicians to address the structural determinants of health; gets them to ask questions to find the true root of failing health outcomes
techniques of the body
Author: Mauss
Definition: bodily habits and how they’re both a reflection and acquisition of cultural and social values; critiques mind/body dualism (mind/body are connected but body is very important and habits are formed subconsciously/without mind- iphone password); bodily habits like asian squat are natural (innate/learned) but also cultural; understand culture better through the body
Ex: asian squat
Stakes: critique of mind/body dualism; important to realize that bodily habits are enacted in bodies differently, so there is no universal notion of the body (pap smears are weird to people who aren’t familiar with western medicine)
anatomo-politics
Author: Foucault
Definition: subset of biopower that gets people to self regulate and adhere to unspoken rules in the name of good health
Ex: brushing teeth daily
Stakes:
multiple ontologies
Author: Mol
Definition: objects are brought into being or sustained; they are enacted through things and practices; objects tend to differ from one practice to another; reality multiplies and disease is always being done (dynamic)
Ex: different ontologies for AC (PT to treat joint pain, patient record of condition, path lab)
Stakes: Need to consider multiple symptoms across different people; misdiagnosed woman and she died of AC because her symptoms presented differently
agentive power
Author: Foucault
Definition: ability to act, make decisions, and exert influence, typically associated with authority; Foucault highlighted the roles of institutions like the justice system or government in shaping public perceptions of authority and guidance; Foucault’s agentive (direct, associated with clearly identifiable agents like governments or organizations) vs unagentive power (more subtle and pervasive, influencing people to regulate their own behavior in alignment with societal norms)
Leib
Author: Ots
Definition: concept of the “lived body,” encompassing physical and emotional experiences as an integrated whole; concept challenges Descartes’ dualism that separates mind and body, advocating for a more holistic approach to healthcare; in practice, it means addressing physical and psychological distress together rather than separately
Ex: Chinese medicine
Stakes: provides framework to understand and treat the mind and body as inseparable and connected making a more comprehensive understanding of health and illness
Local/situated biologies
Author: Lock
Definition: biology is not a universal, static entity but is influenced by local factors, meaning that bodies and biological processes are situated within particular historical and geographical conditions; Lock: Exploring how perceptions and experiences of menopause differ between Japanese and North American women, influenced by cultural, dietary, and healthcare contexts; it acknowledges that biological phenomena are not universal but deeply influenced by cultural, social, political, and environmental contexts
tinkering
Authors: Casper and Clarke
Definition: process of making informal, innovative adjustments within the healthcare system; applies to realm of pap smear technology where various factors (pathologists, patients, technicians, etc) use tinkering to alter physical adjustments of technology and broader adjustments in policy, practice, and patient care
Stake: tinkering continually adjusts Pap smear’s use and interpretation
chronic fatigue syndrome essay
Authors: Ots, Lock, Mol
1. How are dualisms at work in the case of chronic fatigue syndrome?
Ots: Disease/illness dualism - critique of somatization; Western medicine separates disease (pathological symptoms) from illness (subjective experience); subjective experience of fatigue is dismissed as secondary to physiological markers, undermining patient experiences
- How do understandings of the “realness” of the disease change if attributed to psychiatric versus physiological causes?
Mol: physiological explanation, such as identification of the virus through a microscope or imaging process grounds it in biological evidence. Mol’s multiple ontologies highlight how physiological enactments of disease create a more accepted version of the disease, leading to increased legitimacy and research funding - How might a critical anthropologist go about questioning these dualisms?
Lock: local biologies explain how cultural, social, and historical contexts shape the experience and categorization of CFS. for instance, they might investigate how western medicine’s definition of CFS differs from those in other cultural settings, questioning the universality of dualistic frameworks
adhd essay
Authors: Mol, Bourgeois, Lock
- describe the enactment of ADHD in the US (in real and situated specific times and places)
Mol: ADHD is enacted through diagnostic material like the DSM-5, which gives ADHD its “realness” in the biomedical framework because it enables the prescription of medications; in schools, ADHD is enacted differently, a child’s inability to sit still or complete assignments is viewed as disruptive to the class, which enacts ADHD as a behavioral problem; pharma companies enact ADHD as a treatable chemical imbalance
Lock: the rise of ADHD correlates with societal demands for productivity and efficiency, where the inability to focus or stay still is pathologized and reflects culturally specific expectations and attention in environments structured by capitalism and rapid technological advancement; rising prevalence of screens and digital distractions shape how ADHD is understood; same behaviors may not have been pathologized in pre-ditigal eras when longer focus was less central to societal functioning, making ADHD situated in time and place
Foucault: ongoing monitoring of people with ADHD through therapy and medication to reinforce control over bodies and behaviors and shape people into productive citizens
