Dr Melissa Parker 'Resisting control of neglected diseases: dilemmas in the mass treatment of schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths in north-west Uganda'

A strong case has recently been made by academics and policy makers to develop national control programmes for the integrated control of Africa’s “neglected diseases”. Uganda was the first country to develop a programme for the integrated control of two of these diseases: schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths. This paper discusses social responses to the programme in northwest Uganda. It shows that adults are increasingly rejecting free treatment. Resistance is attributed to a subjective fear of side effects; divergence between biomedical and local understandings of bilharzia; as well as insufficient and inadequate health education. In addition, the current procedures for distributing drugs at a district level re-enforce resented social hierarchies. It is suggested that the programme will not fulfil its stated objectives of developing a local demand for treatment unless an endeavour is made to counter the view that this particular top down, biomedical intervention is just another attempt to re-enforce political control and economic marginalisation.

Posted by Ivan Costantino, Monday 19th February @ 2:47pm

Workshop 'Ethics in Anthropological Research: Practice, Meaning, and Alternatives'

In recent years, academia’s growing concern with research ethics has led to the formulation and standardization of cross-disciplinary ethical guidelines, embodied in the creation of institutions dedicated to a unified ethical review, such as the University of Oxford’s Central University Research Ethics Committee. Our purpose in conducting this workshop is to examine the ways in which we, as anthropologists, engage with ethics in our own research, as well as the role of institutionalised ethical codes in anthropological research. We shall explore themes such as the meaning of ethics to anthropologists, our uniquely ‘anthropological’ ethical concerns, and our own experiences with ethics within anthropological practice. We also hope to enable workshop participants to act to influence existing ethics regimes, either through collective action (i.e., the Oxford University Anthropological Society) or other means.

Posted by Ivan Costantino, Tuesday 13th February @ 7:05pm

OU Anthropological Society Half-term Dinner

The OU Anthropological Society

Invites you to join us for dinner, to celebrate we have all survived half a term!

Posted by Ivan Costantino, Tuesday 13th February @ 5:41pm