By Grant Terwilliger
SUNY Plattsburgh’s anthropology department has developed a new minor for students who are interested in the history of medicine and its cultural side.
Professor Andrew Buckser created a designated minor within the anthropology department that focuses on medicine, with hopes of eventually developing it into a major.
“As a department, you are always looking for ways to make the curriculum more current,” Buckser said.
He said demand is high for study fields directly tailored to applications in careers.
Only 12 colleges in the United States offer medical anthropology programs, according to MyMajors, a website that aims to help students decide on a college major — but the field is becoming more popular. The study of medical anthropology examines the intersection of health, technology, social factors and culture.
Buckser found that medical anthropology is becoming more relevant in society as world cultures have different ways of thinking about disease processes and treating them.
“Some cultures have stigmas to them that they don’t have in other cultures, cultures can define illnesses in different ways,” Buckser said.
The minor consists of 18 to 20 credits and requires foundational anthropology courses as well as classes specifically tailored for the medical anthropology minor.
“One track deals with culture and cultural dimensions of health, and the other with cross-cultural biological dimensions of health,” Buckser said.
The minor is suitable for those pursuing healthcare-related professions or social work as it deals with understanding the cultural dimensions of illness.
