Medical Anthropology-Reimagining Mental Health

Abstract (English)

The panel, Medical Anthropology- Re-imagining Mental Health, aims such basic paradigms and domains of Medical Anthropology which are rapidly accommodating newer perspectives to understand better the sufferings of Brain and Mind. This panel, Medical Anthropology: Re-imagining Suffering of Brain and Mind, explores the social construction of Suffering of Brain and Mind in different social settings. Their teaching and treating institutions, the relationship of scientists with multiple actors and networks, the impacts of scientific advancements on cultural groups, as well as the ways in which science and technology are shaped by social values encircled the community of scientists and technical experts. This panel also encourages ethnographic studies illustrating the social processes of scientific practices in different physical and natural scientific fields with special focus on the epistemology, ontology and the actor-network entanglement in the construction, circulation, and implementation of science and technological knowledge.
The panel invites scholars and researchers with background in anthropology, public health, clinical psychology, psychiatric/social work, anthropological psychiatry, diagnostic sciences (pathology, microbiology, neurochemistry, psychopharmacology investigations in laboratories), Neurosciences- neurosurgery, neurology, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, yoga etc. to submit their work in the Panel.
For this Panel, we invite authors to work on their articles. Therefore, we are interested in a variety of topics related to Medical Anthropology in the field of medicine particularly ways of imagining the Mental Health or largely the suffering of brain and mind. Some issues might include, but are not limited to:
Section-1: Anthropological Psychiatry/Psychiatric Anthropology: Mental illnesses and health, Stigma to Mental illness/ behavioural Disorders; Culture & DSM-V; Ethnography in or of Hospital; Rituals of healing Mind; Politics and Ethics of Healing; Managing the mis-fortune and cultural psychiatry in community clinics/traditional healers; Spirituality, Religion and Cultural Healing, Traditional Healing and its Contemporary Formulations: Ethno-medicine, Herbal and Naturopathy as a Healing Ritual, Ayurveda, Yoga, Mindfulness meditation, Reiki, Touch and Energy healing; Role of Traditional Healers, Health Promotion and Community Education. Anthropology of Body Pain- cultural construction of Pain beyond Body & related issues.
Section -2: Neuroanthropology: Propensity of Neurological Diseases in different populations, cultural sensitivity to body Images; stroke/Brain attack; Handedness, use of hands movements, writing skill, spatial abilities, etc, after the stroke. Dying, End Life care, Death, Brain death. Nursing Anthropology- Care of patients within clinic and beyond to Family.

People’s perception about Neurosurgical Diseases like Brain Tumours & other diseases of Brain; Use & abuse of radiological Images (MRI, CT, fMRI etc.) – ways of seeing the Brain Diseases . Studies in disabilities. Cultural Neurosciences- cultural influences on Brain and its functions. Head Injury- Man Made Disaster, Plight of people without identity, “unknown patients” and patients in persistent vegetative state and coma.
Section -3: Pharmaceutical Anthropology: Uses of medicine, perception, consumer or patients, medication error, self prescription and medication; State and Pharmaceutical industries; Clinical trials and Health Economics & Ethics.
Section -4: Sexual Anthropology/ Sexual Behaviour: Men’s reproductive health and the bio-politics of masculinity; masculinity- economics of drugs; Women reproductive Apparatus and its Health issues; Women Contraception and its uses and abuses and future challenges. Birthing Mother, Surrogacy & its tourism, IVF clinics- its need or does it need a legal frame to when to reproduce & when not: Legal and Ethical issues? Sperm Banking & Ethical issues, Bio-politics of sexual orientation and its challenges to next generation.