India
ANTH 3156—India: Global Health Ethnography
The four-credit three-week intensive India Global Health program introduces students to India through the study of international health and social anthropology. This program is open to undergraduate students and will be of particular interest to anthropology, sociology, psychology, health science, environmental sciences, pre-nursing, and pre-med majors. Participants will be housed and take seminars at the world-renowned Comprehensive Rural Health Program (CRHP) in Jamkhed, Maharashtra; travel to rural villages to observe the daily work of village health workers; and accompany the CRHP mobile team of Ayurvedic physicians, nurses, social workers, and development specialists on routine visits to rural areas. Participants will meet and engage with women health workers and hear personal testimonies of their life-transitions from teenage brides to respected health practitioners and political leaders. CRHP is a leading institution in the primary health care movement that trains physicians, nurses, public health workers, and local rural health workers. The global health course field trips to sacred monuments of Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Bibi ka Maqbara mosque as well as other important regional cultural and historical sites and museums. Students attend seminars led by Brooklyn College's Associate Professor Patricia Antoniello and Dr. Shobha Arole, medical director of CRHP. Seminars focus on the dramatic changes in the health and well-being of rural villagers, and anthropological approaches to global, social, political, and economic matters in the local context. Students experience village life in rural India, learn about the history and culture of India, and understand global health from a local perspective.
