Cultural Illnesses

ARCHIVE ENTRY DATE: #3 September 22, 2011

TOPIC: Cultural Illnesses.

TITLE: bipolar disease vs. witchcraft- are their similarities?

SOURCE: personal observation and experience, internet readings.

RELATION TO TEXT: RR. p. 49, the meaning of illness.

COMMENTARY:
what classifies as a cultural illness? According to Wikipedia, Cultural bound syndrome, aka folk illness, in medical anthropology is a combination of psychiatric and somatic symptoms that are considered to be a recognizable disease only within a specific society or culture. My mother is diagnosed with being bipolar and in Western Society we define it to be a mental illness where as the individual has mood swings, depressive episodes, and the such. Diagnosis is based on the person's self-reported experiences, as well as observed behavior.There are also many classes of bipolar disorder based on the intensity and how often the moods swings happen. Bipolar disorder is often treated with mood stabilizing medication and, sometimes, other psychiatric drugs. Genetic factors contribute substantially to the likelihood of developing bipolar disorder, and environmental factors are also implicated. What I find interesting is that if my mom were to be placed in a society in southeast Africa, specifically amongst the Chewa of Malawi, they would think that her episodes are the cause of someone that has bewitched her. To them their belief is not as scientific as we would classify it. They believe, RR. p. 49, " illness and death are induced by witchcraft when someone fails to observe some social norm." Their way of curing the victim is first by asking the victim what wrongs they have committed, with whom they have quarreled with, and who is jealous of the them. the "Ill," victim would then consult a diviner to discover the call of the illness. so the way they would go about "curing" my mom is by trying to help her solve any social disputes she has with friends and family. Thus, the Chewa medical theory is a social theory of illness, not simply a supernatural one. these to situations, in my opinion, are the same illness. They both show the same symptoms but have different names. I think the reason behinds the different ideas of curing this illness is based on the cultural beliefs and morals. The Chewa do not agree with our beliefs because they have different lifestyles, and grew up in a different environment that shaped their views, than the western culture.

different lifestyles

ARCHIVE ENTRY DATE: #2 September 8, 2011

TOPIC:  Relativism-cultural relativism

TITLE: Different Lifestyles

SOURCE: Personal observation and experience

RELATION TO TEXT: RR. p. 8 the Ethnocentric Fallacy and the Relativist Fallacy, p. 12 cultural relativism.

COMMENTARY:

 

I grew up mostly in the Arizona and Bakersfield, ca, going through life as I thought as normal; I went to school, hung out with friends, played sports, went to church and had a mildly disfunctional family. That’s just how I thought life was suppose to be. I knew people were different but I still had a naïve belief that people are just like me. According to our text I had more of an ethnocentric way of thinking in a sense as I thought that my way of thinking and living was right. When the topic of relativism, specifically cultural relativism, came across in our readings my interest was sparked. Relativism (RR p.8) is the thought that no behavior or belief can be judged to be odd or wrong because it is different. When I arrived to Humboldt three years ago I was not only shocked at how lush and green everything was but at how different the locals lifestyles and interactions with one another was.  As I started dating my current boyfriend, who was born and raised in Humboldt County, I was amazed at some of the things that he did and grew up with that he viewed as normal. For example, all my life I went to public school that was always 400 kids or more in the same grade as you and had access to all types of resources all the time where as my boyfriend went to a charter school where there are no more than 15 kids and at different ages go to the same building, usually a house, and that is your school.  Another example was my views about religion. I grew up going to church roughly 4 times a week. I wasn’t sure exactly why I went all the time but I do believe a big part of it was due to the fact that everyone else around me went and it was just a normal thing to do. I never questioned it. I found it interesting when my boyfriend told me his views about religion. From my understanding he believes, and so do some of the other locals I asked this question to, more so in the energy and aura of things that coincide with nature. To me I instantly thought “hippy”. These are two example of diversity between two cultures. Mine being my upbringing in Arizona and Bakersfield (desert areas) compared to his being in Humboldt (forest area). As I applied the enthnographic method to the locals of the Humboldt area, particularly my boyfriend and his local friends, the easier it was for me to understand how he could think the way he does. I was starting to think more like a Cultural relativist which is the principle that an individual human’s beliefs and activities should be understood by others in terms of that individual’s own culture (RR p.12). By putting all my personal biases aside and trying to see how and why he believes what he does due to his culture and upbringing I was able to better grasp and understand him and the culture around him.