In this course we will address illness cross-culturally. Students will learn
that even though two individuals may share a common patholgen, or "disease,"
the way they experience that pathogen and the associated symptoms may differ
radically. The lived illness, or "illness experience," is a complex
interaction of one's culture, gender, age, personality type, etc. How do you
feel about your body when you are ill? How do people treat you when you are
ill? How does the type of illness affect how people perceive you? What is it
like to experience a contagious illness, such as AIDS, as opposed to one,
such as cancer, that is not contagious? How do all of these situations vary
depending on your culture? These are the types of questions we will ask to
better understand illness experience.

The course will be divided into three parts: an introduction to terms and
ideas, a series of case studies (including leprosy, AIDS, PMS, and mental
illness), and practical  applications. Throughout the course we will examine
the interface between biology and spirituality to understand why treatment
of a disease is not always as simple as prescribing a medication. We will
discuss the effects of biomedical practice on the illness experience. This
course is of particular value to anthropologists and to anyone pursuing a
career in health and allied sciences (nursing, medicine, dentistry, etc.).