Anthro 2290:650 plagues and peoples - Anthropology - University of ...

Anthro 2290:650
plagues and peoples: cultures of health and healing
University of Western Ontario
Jan - April 2013
Douglass St.Christian,
associate professor of interesting stuff
Online Course Only
On campus office hours:
dr.d.: mon- 8-10am, SSC 3425
NOTA BENE: This is an online course only. There are no scheduled classes. This course uses a
website as the required learning source for this course which includes detailed instructions for
assignments with due dates, the readings, video links and other resources, and
dr.d.’s course blog which will be used for announcements and updates.
It can be found at:
doctordee.weebly.com
CAVEAT LECTOR: My course outlines are just that: course OUTLINES. They are not contracts or even "like contracts". I
refuse to sell indulgences in exchange for your obedience. These are invitations, flirtations, sketch maps of an as yet unknown
country, not promissory notes. They suggest where we might go, how we will, in Heidegger's words, "let learning happen". Bear
this in mind. If you want a contract, I have nothing to offer you.
Brief Course Overview: This course introduces students to the importance of culture, social structure, and history for
understanding illness and well-being. As the World Health Organization has warned for more than two decades, social and
economic inequalities pose the gravest threat to health throughout the world. The goal of health for all in the 21st century must
be grounded in the research and advocacy skills of culturally sensitive and politically critical comparative knowledge of health
inequalities world wide, and in particular, a comparative knowledge of how health inequalities are grounded in the fracturing
inequalities of globalization, imperialism and war. This course applies a critical-feminist, Marxist, and narrative/interpretive
perspective to issues of health, illness and inequality using an activist approach that focuses on real voices and real lives along
these fault-lines of power and oppression. Our goal in this course is to locate health, well-being, and illness within systems of
power and practices of structural violence.
Course Website: The course website is the required learning source for this course and contains all the detailed
instructions: the schedule of readings, detailed instructions on all course work including due dates, and a blog where dr.d. will
post announcements and updates. You will also find videos, additional brief readings, and other material and resources for the
course which are required. This course DOES NOT use OWL/SAKAI. Make sure you familiarize yourself with the very simple
course website. I promise, it won’t hurt.
Texts: All texts are required including the material on the course website.
Culture Health + Illness 5th edition: Helman [Use only this most recent edition as it contains important updates]
In The Realm Of Hungry Ghosts: Mate

An Important Note About Accessibility: If you need this or any other course information in a different format, or
need any other assistance to make this class accessible to you, please contact dr.d. as soon as possible so he can help. Where
appropriate, get to know the people in Services for Students With Disabilities - Room 4100 in the Western Student Services
Building [ph: 661-3031], as they can provide you with additional assistance specific to your personal needs.
Course Work and Due Dates: There are no exams. All work is required. Read the online instructions for all of the
course work now so you can plan your time. Some of these assignments require additional reading or research, so get organized
now. You will be happier and so will I.
1. Readings Questions: You will write a brief response to a question arising from each modules readings. These
assignments begin the week of Jan 21 st . Responses will be due by email by 12 noon on the Friday of each week. There are 10
modules. The questions are posted for each week on the course website, where you will also find detailed instructions about this
assignment. [ Weight: 60% of course grade. NOTE: In order to pass the course, you must complete all ten of these
module question assignments. Failure to complete all ten will result in a grade of F for the course.]
2. Essay: You will research and write an essay on a topic of your choosing, related to the course material. Detailed instructions
for the essay are on the course website. You must complete the final essay or your will receive an F in the course. Requests for
extensions on the final essay must be made through Academic Counselling. [Weight: 40% of course grade. NOTE: In order
to pass the course, you must complete the essay assignment. Failure to complete the essay assignment will result in a
grade of F for the course.]
Course Rules: There are a few rules you should know about. Only a few.
Late assignments: I don’t levy late penalties because I won’t accept late assignments unless you have a good reason for
missing a due date. What is a good reason, you ask? Well, it all depends on your circumstances, doesn’t it? I am willing to
consider any situation you find yourself which makes meeting a due date difficult or impossible. While this should not be
construed as an open invitation to try and take advantage of the soft-hearted old queen, don’t be afraid to talk to me if you have
run into difficulties with due dates. This applies to all assignments, no matter their grade weight. WARNING WARNING
WARNING!!!! Assignments are to be submitted by email only, as indicated in the detailed instructions. Do not leave your
assignments in my mailbox or under my office door, or place your assignment in the department drop box. If you do it will not
be graded and you will receive an F for that assignment. If you have what you feel is a good reason for missing a due date, email
dr.d. as soon as practical. You may be asked to provide medical or other documentation to Academic Counselling because the
university places some restrictions on profs granting extensions. Do not bring medical documentation to dr.d.. TA’s CANNOT
grant extensions. Students should also familiarize themselves with the University Policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness,
available at https://studentservices.uwo.ca/secure/index.cfm .
Using The Internet For Assignments: You MAY NOT use the Internet – save for the course website – to assist you in
completing any assignment in this course, unless you are given specific and very limited instructions about using specific and very
limited online resources in the instructions for a particular assignment. The reason for this is simple: you need to develop
learning skills which require a bit more effort than that needed to use the intellectual equivalent of a food processor. While
Internet sources can be valuable, overwhelmingly the Internet is a great sucking vortex of crap. In order to be able to tell the
difference, you need to develop critical learning skills that Internet sources cannot give you. Breaking this rule will result in an F
on the assignment in question. Period. This rule will be strictly enforced.
This course outline may be adjusted during the term to allow for unforeseen circumstances. You are
responsible for checking the online version of this outline regularly to ensure you are aware of any changes. Check the website
not less than once a week for any changes. Any significant adjustments to course work, such as postponing due dates, will be
announced in dr.d.'s blog, and will be updated on the relevant instructions page. Students taking this course for credit at
Western are also responsible for activating your uwo.ca email account and reading messages sent to that account, as information
about the course may be sent to that address by dr.d., the department or the university. ITS has simple instructions for having

your uwo.ca email forwarded to your Gmail or Hotmail or other email account. This course does not use WebCT.
Prerequisite Checking: This is University policy, not mine. The prerequisites for this course are “Any Arts and Humanities
or Social Science 0.5 or 1.0 Essay course”. This is a direct quote from University policy:“Unless you have either the prerequisites
for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enroll in it, you will be removed from this course and it will be
deleted from your record. This decision may not be appealed. You will receive no adjustment to your fees in the event that you
are dropped from a course for failing to have the necessary prerequisites.” If you are unsure of your status, get in touch with
dr.d. and I will check to make sure everything is in order.
A brief comment on honest learning: The administration is becoming increasingly paranoid about plagiarism and other forms
of what they call academic dishonesty. I do not share this paranoia. You will notice I do not carry a badge – that is, I am a teacher,
not a cop. I DO NOT use things like Turnit-in.com -- the very name makes me retch -- and I question the ethics and integrity of
anyone who does. I assume each of you are here to learn. Making sure the work you do is your own -- and yes, you can
collaborate with other students but you need to be upfront about that and tell me when you do -- is part of that process of
honest learning. If you do turn in work that is not your own, I’ll move into your house, wear your clothes, and eat all of your food.
Oh, and I will also give you an F in the course. You get to choose. You should know both your rights and responsibilities.
Familiarize yourself with this document:
http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/handbook/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf
Finally, a few words about learning:
“Grades are a problem. On the most general level, they're an explicit acknowledgment that what you're doing
is insufficiently interesting or rewarding for you to do it on your own. Nobody ever gave you a grade for
learning how to play, how to ride a bicycle, or how to kiss. One of the best ways to destroy love for any of
these activities would be through the use of grades, and the coercion and judgment they represent. Grades
are a cudgel to bludgeon the unwilling into doing what they don't want to do, an important instrument in
inculcating children into a lifelong subservience to whatever authority happens to be thrust over them.” ~
Derek Jensen
I want us to be guided by this simple premise: that each of us to the best of our ability, and with the full and free
exercise of our judgement and talent, work fairly and honestly and conscientiously and equitably – that is ethically – with
deference only to the emancipating goal of learning, together and openly. The only assurance any of us can ever make, or ever
be expected to make, is to try as best and considerately as we can, to support learning as something open, erotic, and charged
with the energy of possibility, not compliance and submission, castigation and obedience. A more detailed discussion of my
grading philosophy can be found on the course website.
My promise to you, with apologies to Mark Morford:
This class – like all of my classes – is yoga for the mind and soul. It will give you an opportunity to crack open your heart,
peel away layers of urban anxiety, sweat out toxins and bad text messages, drink in spaciousness, build strength and
stamina, look tastier in a bathing suit, sample some divine nectar, find connection and stability in your daily life, and slide
through the world with more authentic grace and flexibility. I promise you will not leave this class feeling, breathing, or
moving in quite the same way you came in.
Departmental Contact Information
Undergraduate Chair: Prof. Sherrie Larkin, SSC 3328, Phone: 519-661-2111 x85084
Department Chair: Prof. Chris Ellis, SSC 3323, Main Dept Phone: 519-661-3430