Medicalization And Pharmaceuticalization By Scheper Hughes...

Medicalization and Pharmaceuticalization The â€Å"medicalization† of the Alto do Cruzeiro people and the â€Å"pharmaceuticalization† of the Vita patients enable a systematic and bureaucratically sanctioned control of these marginalized groups. These two concepts are as alike as they are different. Scheper-Hughes focuses on the â€Å"medicalization† of the working class in Alto do Cruzeiro. In her ethnography, medicalization is a tool of hegemony which brings forth a complicit and pacified workforce. Biehl’s â€Å"pharmaceuticalization† of the patients in the Vita asylum in the other hand is an exploitative moral technology that justifies and distances the familial/medical/political structure from bureaucratically organized deaths. Although the power structures and aims at play are different in these settings, medicalization and pharmaceuticalization both serve to abandon/pacify people without the locusts of power being morally and civilly held accountable. In Scheper-Hughes’s ethnography, â€Å"nervoso† is appropriated by medicine and transformed into an illness. Due to the biomedical model, this folk syndrome is made into a disease, through which its somatic symptoms can be medicated. Likewise, in Biehl’s ethnography, any symptom, whether it be somatic or psychological, is treated with pharmaceuticals. This enforcement of medicine is normalized and unquestioned because in both of these societies, although thirty years apart, biomedicalization is deeply entrenched. This is partly due to the

Culture And Lack Of Understanding Between Hmong And Hmong...

Throughout this ethnography about the cultural group known as the Hmong, there are several anthropological concepts that can be found due to differences in culture and lack of understanding between the Hmong and the Americans. Two concepts that are prevalent throughout are medical anthropology and ethnomedcine. For example, Lia’s mother, Foua, was restricted to specific foods because of her culture, which were criticized by the medical staff which shows the dissonance between American and Hmong culture. This is a perfect example of ethnomedicine, in that the medical staff at Merced Community Medical Center expressed a completely different way of administering medicine with vastly different medications than that of the Hmong. This idea of ethnomedicine is explained later on and is constantly seen throughout the novel. Later on the Lee’s took Lia home in order to have her â€Å"hu plig† which is a cultural birth ritual that â€Å"includes a sacrifice for ancestral soul to invite a soul into Lia’s body.† (Fadiman, 21) After some time, Lia becomes diagnosed with severe epilepsy by the doctors at Merced, where the Hmong call it â€Å"qaug dab peg† (aka the title of the book!) (Fadiman, 21). This is an example of medical anthropology because the Hmong see illness as something that is physical where the soul and the body are tangled or conflicted. Whereas the doctors (whom are classified as agreeing with the cultural views of American culture) see illness as biological, with viruses, bacteria,Show MoreRelatedOvercoming Barriers : Hmong Culture917 Words   |  4 PagesOvercoming Barriers: Hmong Culture For many Hmong people, immigrating to the United States of America is a large form of stress as it involves adapting to new cultures and new environments. 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In order to do thisRead More The Hmong Culture Essay1124 Words   |  5 Pages The Hmong Culture nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The Hmong Culture of South Asia is a very interesting ethnic group. Between 300,000 to 600,000 Hmong live in Southeast Asian countries, such as Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar. About 8 million more live in the southern provinces of China. Since the Vietnam War ended in 1975, Hmong refugees from Southeast Asia have settled in Australia, France, Canada, and the United States. The largest Hmong refugee community lives in the United States withRead MoreThe Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down1692 Words   |  7 PagesYou Fall Down is the story by author Anne Fadiman, which explores the clash between a small county hospital in California and a refugee family from Laos over the care of Lia Lee, a Hmong child diagnosed with severe epilepsy. Lia’s parents and her doctors both wanted what was best for Lia, but the lack of communication between them led to tragedy.1The lack of communication due to cultural misunderstanding, mistrust, lack empathy, and poor health literacy led to care being comprised for Lia, whichRead MoreThe Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down Essay1566 Words   |  7 PagesSpirit Catches You and You Fall Down: Talks about a Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures written by Anne Fadiman. Anne Fadiman is an American essayist and reporter, who interests include literary journalism. She is a champion of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, the Salon Book Award, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Current Interest. In the book, Anne Fadiman explores the clash between a county hospital in California and a refugee familyRead MoreThe Hippocratic Oath, First, Do No Harm 1380 Words   |  6 PagesIjeoma Unachukwu Culture and Health Professor Gezmu Fall 2014 The Mosaic The Hippocratic Oath, is â€Å"First, do no harm†. Being a doctor is a profession solely dedicated to helping others, but what about when helping hurts? Often times the doctor doesn’t fully understand the patient due to a language or cultural barrier. A misunderstanding between the doctor and the patient can cause the patient to mistrust and discount everything the doctor says. The only thing worse than a noncompliant patient isRead MoreMy Grandpa Was A Man1404 Words   |  6 Pageshealthy throughout his life. He lived in a small town where hospitals did not exist, they only had small medical clinics. My grandpa lived in the time where medical science was not advanced as much as it is today. People would die at a early age due to a lack of knowledge in medicine, but luckily my grandpa did not get sick. At the age of 94, my grandpa was diagnosed with high blood sugar. High blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps blood. If the

Blood Brothers Development Essay Example For Students

Blood Brothers Development Essay We chose to work on the scene when the two twins confront their particular teachers, which is a highpoint of humour in Blood Brothers. The scene informs us three elements. Firstly we see the completely different quality of education the twins are exposed to and secondly how similar the twins are despite this different learning environment. Thirdly the audience can see that both brothers are suspended, under similar circumstances, for insubordination.  This scene conveys four of the main themes of Blood Brothers. The theme of twins is probably the most obvious thread in the play. The twins start out with identical opportunities but after separation they are forced into two different classes with disastrous results. In this scene we are forced to consider the effect of class upon lifes outcomes. Rehearsing We worked as a team of four people. There was no difficulty in casting as we all had fairly firm ideas about which part we would like to play and nobody had any disagreements. There was 1.5 hours allocated for rehearsal. We elected that we would not have a director but that we would monitor our own performances. We also agreed to encourage each other and provide opinion if necessary. As rehearsal progressed we began to apply little extra pieces of self-direction. As an example, when Mickey and Linda are dismissed from the class, Perkins is given a chance to get his own back and he sticks his leg out to trip Mickey. This allows a moment of glory in an otherwise dull role as the class nerd. As a final proof check we asked our class teacher to see our rehearsal. Many scenes in Blood Brothers are suitable for the use of drama conventions but we agreed that this scene was not one of them. This because we really wanted to keep up a fast and fluid pace and we felt that any conventions would have slowed things down.  There were two peaks of performance in this scene. Both, where the twins, separately, insulted their class teacher. In many ways the twins insults were similar but we wanted to differentiate their performances. Firstly Edward was dragged into a dispute with his teacher over the locket he wears. We had Edward speak in a cultured tone, with a certain degree of smugness. His posture was elongated and haughty. His insult was at once shockingly crude and also wickedly witty. It was the sort of flip remark we sneakily admire but wouldnt dare say. In contradiction Mickeys insult is benign Fish fingers, but Mickey swaggers and larks about. The audience anticipates his comment being rude and we laugh gently at the humour. We have demonstrated how Mickey could have been so much more like Edward if he had benefited from a superior education.