Module ANTH30V7: War and Health

Department: Anthropology

ANTH30V7: War and Health

Prerequisites

• Any ANTH module at level 2.

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To introduce students to the medical consequences of war and the ways anthropologists have approached studies of war and health. 
• To foster an in-depth understanding of anthropological studies of war and health, focusing on engagements with recent conflicts. 
• To show of anthropology can contribute to policy and practice and build on interdisciplinary understandings of war.

Content

• An introduction to studies of war and health from an interdisciplinary perspective.
• An in-depth exploration of scholarly critiques and debates that emerge from anthropological studies of war and its medical consequences. Indicative topics may include: the syndemics of war, humanitarian interventions, war injury and disability, militarization, mental health, healing after war, remembrance, war and representation.

Learning Outcomes

• Recognize key debates in anthropological approaches to war and health and place these within wider approaches from social sciences and humanities.
• Demonstrate an in-depth understanding of scholarly critiques of the medical consequences of war. 
• Gain knowledge about how to study war ethnographically.
• Apply anthropological concepts and critiques to understand war and health in a rigorous and critical manner.
• Broad understanding of the afterlives of war and the changing historical and cultural experiences of individual societies.
• Gain a nuanced understanding of commemorative practices to make sense of how they shape new practices, forms of representation, and understandings of social order and disorder.
• Recognize the methodological and ethical challenges of doing anthropological research on issues of war.

• Link anthropological theory to wider societal discussions and debates about war and health.
• Understand real world interventions through anthropological theory and research.
• Identify the psychological, moral, social, economic, and cultural impact of war in the individual, families, communities, and societies, and the merits of conceptual frameworks of trauma.
• Develop a clear understanding of the relationship between history, politics, and medicine.

• Reflect on the sociocultural and historically contingent nature of the war experience and its impact on health.
• Synthesize materials from the course to discuss in seminars, and produce clear, detailed, and creative assessments.
• Formulate and support a compelling argument in writing. 
• Evaluate and provide constructive feedback on peer work.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Lectures will provide students with an overview of scholarly debates related to the anthropological studies of war and health, introduce key bodies of literature, and discuss relevant concepts. The case studies will be illustrated using ethnographic examples. 
• Seminars will involve small and large group discussion. They will provide a forum for exploring ideas introduced in lectures and readings further and help students develop their own positions on the topics discussed in each seminar. Preparation for seminars will involve readings as well as engagement with a range of audiovisual media. Preparatory materials aim to both deepen students’ understanding of key concepts and illustrate their relevance to real world problems.
• Interactive components will include the creation of an archive of different modes of representation of war and health (film, literature, etc) and a peer feedback session during the final seminar. These exercises will give students an opportunity to develop and communicate their ideas in preparation for their summative assignment and to receive feedback from both their lecturer and peers.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Position piece on war and health offering critical reflections and drawing on ethnographic studies (500 words).

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University