http://gravlee.org/medanthro Course website for Fall 2007 Mon, 14 Jan 2008 05:31:44 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Last week, the PBS series Frontline aired its latest documentary, The Medicated Child. The program starts from the fact that some six million children in the United States are taking psychiatric drugs, yet we know very little about how these drugs work in children or how they affect developing brains. ... http://gravlee.org/medanthro/2008/01/14/the-rise-of-psychiatric-drugs-for-kids/ This semester, I'm teaching a large (~650-student) undergraduate course titled Human Sexuality and Culture. I'm experimenting with a blog in that class, too, and some of you may want to stay tuned to what happens there. For starters, I've just posted an announcement about a local screening of the new documentary, ... http://gravlee.org/medanthro/2008/01/08/special-screening-business-of-being-born/ The semester is drawing to a close, but strangely, the class blog has gained new life. I've added a few new items in the last week, and there's a new discussion unfolding in the comments on my post about female circumcision. So here's the question: how many of you would like ... http://gravlee.org/medanthro/2007/12/13/class-is-over-but-the-blog-lives-on/ Traditional medicine -- and medicinal plants in particular -- have been in the news of late. Two weeks ago, for example, the New York Times reported that "Dragon's blood" is good for you: Researchers have discovered that a plant widely used in traditional Chinese medicine contains compounds that slow the growth ... http://gravlee.org/medanthro/2007/12/11/healing-plants-around-the-world/ Two weeks ago class was cancelled while I was in Washington, DC for the annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association. The antropologi.info is running a series of posts summarizing a few of the hundreds of sessions that took place at the AAA. The latest post features a debate at ... http://gravlee.org/medanthro/2007/12/11/aaa-redux-female-circumcision/ By next Wednesday, most of you will have left town for the break; those of you left behind may be studying for finals. But if you're here and need a study break, here's something to consider. The narrative medicine group at the College of Medicine will hold a discussion of ... http://gravlee.org/medanthro/2007/12/06/documentary-screening-and-discussion/ Today the Boston Globe reports on a debate between scientists over whether climate change is associated with the spread of infectious disease. The debate took place during a workshop on global climate change at the Institute of Medicine, the health-related branch of the National Academy of Sciences. The skeptical voice, according ... http://gravlee.org/medanthro/2007/12/05/debate-over-climate-change-and-health/ As we discussed in class on Tuesday, you are required to read and provide constructive feedback on the drafts of research papers written by members of your peer response group. Your feedback is due to members of your group and to me by Tuesday, Nov. 20. Here I am posting the ... http://gravlee.org/medanthro/2007/11/09/peer-review-of-paper-drafts/ A few weeks ago, we discussed a paper published in 2005 showing that people who are defined as overweight (BMI of 25-<30) actually have the lowest risk of mortality. Today, a new paper sheds more light on the association between BMI and mortality by looking at specific causes of death. It ... http://gravlee.org/medanthro/2007/11/07/is-overweight-a-misnomer/ Earlier this month, Paul Farmer delivered a keynote address at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. The Heller School has posted a video of Farmer's speech online, so you can see it too. The talk focuses on the policy implications of global inequities in health. You ... http://gravlee.org/medanthro/2007/11/01/paul-farmer-on-video/