History 861: Health, Medicine and Healing in Africa
Instructor: Neil Kodesh
1-3 Credits
Level: Advanced (graduate seminar)
R 1:20-3:15 p.m.
Open to graduate students.
Requisites: none
Course Description: This course will examine the historical and anthropological literature on health, medicine, and healing in Africa. Students will explore the creative and shifting ways in which Africans have sought to compose healthy communities through the expansion of therapeutic repertoires, the adaptation of deeply rooted ideas and practices, and the adoption and transformation of new technologies. Students will also examine the ways in which different historical perspectives inform and transform our understanding of more contemporary developments, such as the emergence of medical humanitarianism and the flourishing of health-related non-governmental organizations in the Global South.