APY2602
Assignment 2: Comprehensive Response
Semester 2
Due September 2025
, APY2602
Assignment 2: Comprehensive Response
Semester 2
DUE September 2025
Contents
Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................... 2
1. Introduction: The Critical Lens of Medical Anthropology ....................................................................... 2
2. Questioning the Universal Value and Significance of Biomedicine ....................................................... 3
2.1. Biomedicine as an Ethnomedicine .................................................................................................. 3
2.2. Critique of Biomedical Reductionism and Dualism ......................................................................... 3
2.3. Power Dynamics and Structural Violence within Biomedicine ....................................................... 4
3. Relevance of Anthropology of Health in Western Societies .................................................................. 5
3.1. Cultural Construction of Health and Illness in Western Contexts ................................................... 5
3.2. Medical Pluralism and Health-Seeking Behaviors .......................................................................... 5
3.3. Understanding Healthcare Systems as Social Systems................................................................. 6
3.4. The Patient Experience and Illness Narratives ............................................................................... 6
4. Relevance of Anthropology of Health in Indigenous Societies.............................................................. 7
4.1. Holistic Understandings of Health and Healing .............................................................................. 7
4.2. Ethnomedical Systems and Traditional Healing Practices ............................................................. 7
4.3. Challenges of Integration and Cultural Sensitivity .......................................................................... 8
4.4. Decolonizing Health and Addressing Health Disparities ................................................................ 8
5. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 10
6. References .............................................................................................................................................. 11
Assignment 2: Comprehensive Response
Semester 2
Due September 2025
, APY2602
Assignment 2: Comprehensive Response
Semester 2
DUE September 2025
Contents
Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................... 2
1. Introduction: The Critical Lens of Medical Anthropology ....................................................................... 2
2. Questioning the Universal Value and Significance of Biomedicine ....................................................... 3
2.1. Biomedicine as an Ethnomedicine .................................................................................................. 3
2.2. Critique of Biomedical Reductionism and Dualism ......................................................................... 3
2.3. Power Dynamics and Structural Violence within Biomedicine ....................................................... 4
3. Relevance of Anthropology of Health in Western Societies .................................................................. 5
3.1. Cultural Construction of Health and Illness in Western Contexts ................................................... 5
3.2. Medical Pluralism and Health-Seeking Behaviors .......................................................................... 5
3.3. Understanding Healthcare Systems as Social Systems................................................................. 6
3.4. The Patient Experience and Illness Narratives ............................................................................... 6
4. Relevance of Anthropology of Health in Indigenous Societies.............................................................. 7
4.1. Holistic Understandings of Health and Healing .............................................................................. 7
4.2. Ethnomedical Systems and Traditional Healing Practices ............................................................. 7
4.3. Challenges of Integration and Cultural Sensitivity .......................................................................... 8
4.4. Decolonizing Health and Addressing Health Disparities ................................................................ 8
5. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 10
6. References .............................................................................................................................................. 11
