ANTH Medical and Applied Anthropology 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Paul Farmer's concept of 'structural violence' in medical anthropology refers to:
- Social structures that harm people by preventing them from meeting their basic needs (Correct answer)
- Physical violence perpetrated by government institutions
- Violence resulting from inadequate surgical infrastructure
- Conflict between traditional and modern medical systems
Correct answer: Social structures that harm people by preventing them from meeting their basic needs
Structural violence describes how social arrangements — poverty, racism, gender inequality — harm individuals by blocking access to resources like health care.
Question 2: What term describes the use of traditional plant-based remedies and the anthropological study of indigenous pharmaceutical knowledge?
- Ethnopharmacology (Correct answer)
- Phytotherapy
- Herbal anthropology
- Bioprospecting
Correct answer: Ethnopharmacology
Ethnopharmacology studies the traditional use of plants and other substances for medicinal purposes across different cultures.
Question 3: In medical anthropology, what is a 'culture-bound syndrome'?
- A pattern of aberrant behavior specific to a particular cultural context (Correct answer)
- A disease caused by cultural isolation
- A medical condition only diagnosed in Western medicine
- A syndrome caused by cultural assimilation stress
Correct answer: A pattern of aberrant behavior specific to a particular cultural context
Culture-bound syndromes are recurrent, locally recognized patterns of disturbing experience that are specific to a particular cultural context.
Question 4: What is 'syndemic theory,' developed by Merrill Singer?
- The interaction of two or more diseases that worsen each other within a social context (Correct answer)
- The simultaneous spread of multiple diseases across global populations
- The genetic clustering of diseases within ethnic populations
- The cultural synchronization of illness and healing rituals
Correct answer: The interaction of two or more diseases that worsen each other within a social context
Syndemic theory examines how co-occurring diseases interact biologically and are worsened by social conditions such as poverty and discrimination.
Question 5: Applied anthropologists working in international development and health often use what participatory method that involves community members in designing interventions?
- Participatory action research (Correct answer)
- Rapid ethnographic assessment
- Structured observation
- Key informant interviewing
Correct answer: Participatory action research
Participatory action research (PAR) engages community members as active partners in identifying problems, designing solutions, and evaluating outcomes.
Question 6: Which landmark work by Margaret Lock introduced the concept of 'local biologies' to show how biology and culture co-produce bodily experiences like menopause differently across cultures?
- Encounters with Aging (1993) (Correct answer)
- The Woman in the Body (1987)
- Bodies and Persons (1998)
- The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (1997)
Correct answer: Encounters with Aging (1993)
Margaret Lock's 'Encounters with Aging' compared menopause experiences in Japan and North America, showing how local biologies shape bodily experiences.
ANTH Medical and Applied Anthropology 2
Paul Farmer's concept of 'structural violence' in medical anthropology refers to: