"In the sufferer let me only see the human being"
I just read an interesting article in one of my alumni magazines, and it included this adage. I thought it was a great quote and something worth sharing. Something worth thinking about in terms of how people treat each another, and more importantly relate to one another.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
Just breathe... let's start there
My beloved suggested that I start a blog, but I have since forgotten what his rationale was behind that. Anyhoo, it still sounds like a good idea, so I have created this one. It's called "The Anthropology of Health" because I thought it would be an interesting exercise to see what comes about after combining the two, but now I don't know exactly what to talk about and where to begin.
How about here: anthropology is wicked cool. If you have not taken a class in it, I highly recommend you do. If class isn't your thing/ don't have time/ just don't care to do so, then pick up a book- maybe Coming of Age in Samoa by Margaret Mead or Custer Died for Your Sins by Vine Deloria, Jr. But I digress. What makes anthropology so enjoyable and engaging is it is about the study of people across space and time, and more importantly it expands your world view. I once took a sociology course and the professor said something disparaging about a culture where polyandry is the common practice, which is where the wife has more than one husband (btw, there are several cultures around the world that practice polyandry). I spoke up and said that if it was the norm of the culture then it shouldn't be judged as right or wrong. He asked me what my major was, and when I told him that it was anthropology he said, "That's a typical response from an anthropologist". (Wait- was that the "typical response" of a sociologist? Whoa, that's kinda deep. I'll ponder more on that later.) That exchange solidified my desire to pursue the study of anthropology, and even though I am not a paid spokesperson for anthropology, I incorporate it into my daily life.
So yeah, anthropology is wicked cool, and then there's the whole thing about health and health care and the bigger question of how we define it. During my Medical Anthropology class we read a book that altered my thinking called Taking Care of Our Own by Susan Garrett and since then that has always been the basis for my personal challenge. Who is "my own" and how do I contribute positively to taking care of my own? There have been times where "taking care of my own" has been defined by taking a family member to the doctor to be the second set of ears and other times where it's been defined by arranging transportation for an oncology patient to get to the hospital for radiation therapy. Then just beyond that is my interest in health policy and how health care is delivered in terms of the bigger picture. I love that "big picture" stuff.
At this point, this is what I mean by "The Anthropology of Health". It's going to be about these same concepts and they will meet where they make the most sense in my mind; or maybe they will not meet; or maybe they will meet where they don't make any sense yet inspire discussion.
How about here: anthropology is wicked cool. If you have not taken a class in it, I highly recommend you do. If class isn't your thing/ don't have time/ just don't care to do so, then pick up a book- maybe Coming of Age in Samoa by Margaret Mead or Custer Died for Your Sins by Vine Deloria, Jr. But I digress. What makes anthropology so enjoyable and engaging is it is about the study of people across space and time, and more importantly it expands your world view. I once took a sociology course and the professor said something disparaging about a culture where polyandry is the common practice, which is where the wife has more than one husband (btw, there are several cultures around the world that practice polyandry). I spoke up and said that if it was the norm of the culture then it shouldn't be judged as right or wrong. He asked me what my major was, and when I told him that it was anthropology he said, "That's a typical response from an anthropologist". (Wait- was that the "typical response" of a sociologist? Whoa, that's kinda deep. I'll ponder more on that later.) That exchange solidified my desire to pursue the study of anthropology, and even though I am not a paid spokesperson for anthropology, I incorporate it into my daily life.
So yeah, anthropology is wicked cool, and then there's the whole thing about health and health care and the bigger question of how we define it. During my Medical Anthropology class we read a book that altered my thinking called Taking Care of Our Own by Susan Garrett and since then that has always been the basis for my personal challenge. Who is "my own" and how do I contribute positively to taking care of my own? There have been times where "taking care of my own" has been defined by taking a family member to the doctor to be the second set of ears and other times where it's been defined by arranging transportation for an oncology patient to get to the hospital for radiation therapy. Then just beyond that is my interest in health policy and how health care is delivered in terms of the bigger picture. I love that "big picture" stuff.
At this point, this is what I mean by "The Anthropology of Health". It's going to be about these same concepts and they will meet where they make the most sense in my mind; or maybe they will not meet; or maybe they will meet where they don't make any sense yet inspire discussion.
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