PSYC 7500

Cultural Anthropological Applications to Rural Practice

This course examines beliefs about illness, healing, and the body with an emphasis on cultural influences. Lectures and readings will use case materials drawn from North America, Africa, Central and Latin America, the Pacific, and Asia. The course will begin by distinguishing physical disease from the cultural understandings of illness and will explore the ways that cultural conceptions shape the experience of illness and mental illness. Cross-cultural examples will be utilized to explore culturally defined perceptions and definitions of mental disorders.

Units: 3.0