Society for Medical Anthropology

A section of the American Anthropological Association

Breaking SMA News & Announcements

American Anthropologist Launches "Public Anthropology Reviews

  • Request for Submission of Review Materials AAA is pleased to announce the launch of "Public Anthropology Reviews," a new review section in American Anthropologist. Public Anthropology Reviews will highlight anthropological work principally aimed at non-academic audiences, including websites, blogs, white papers, journalistic articles, briefing reports, online videos, and multimedia presentations. The editors will also consider other traditional and innovative mechanisms for communicating anthropological research and concepts outside of academic realms and welcome suggestions. Please note that this review section will complement existing review sections and will therefore not review books, films or museum exhibits.

  • We are now accepting submissions for materials to be reviewed in the June 2010 issue of AA. Please send materials for review, ideas for review essays and inquiries to the review editors at the addresses listed below:
  • Editors: Melissa Checker (CUNY Queens C), Alaka Wali (Field Museum) and David Vine (American U)
  • Addresses for Inquiries, Ideas and Submissions of Materials for Review: publicanthreviews@gmail.com
  • (ED: Please note this message was originally sent in september, so check with them regarding timing)

Announcing Video Availability of the SMA Conference Plenary Presentations

  • So that those who cannot attend the SMA Conference "Medical Anthropology at the Intersections: Celebrating 50 Years of Interdisciplinarity" can view the plenary presentations, full video of these events will be available, free of charge, on the conference website and via the AAA blog beginning in late September.
  • Registration for the conference is full, and there will not be on-site registration (please do not come to the conference if you are not pre-registered). If you are registered or have an unused online registration permission but do not plan to attend the conference, please let the conference organizers (medanthro.conference@yale.edu) know so that we can give your spot to someone on the waiting list.
  • We hope that providing a video option makes participating in the conference easier for medical anthropologists around the world!

Medical Anthropology (the Journal) Op-Eds

Medical Anthropology announces the addition of op-ed contributions in each issue from experts and world-renowned scholars who recognize and explain the issues in health, illness, and medicine that matter in your life and the lives of others. The op-ed contributions in each issue of Medical Anthropology provide commentary and opinion on the human stories of health and illness. These timely responses highlight the social conditions and cultural frameworks central to health beliefs and medical behavior of individuals, of families, and of societies.

  • In 2008 Medical Anthropology announced the addition of op-ed contributions in each issue from experts and world-renowned scholars who recognize and explain the issues in health, illness, and medicine that matter in your life and the lives of others.
  • The first in this series by Dr. Hans A. Baer (Melbourne), examined the impact of global warming on health and human societies (27:1). Dr. João Biehl (Princeton) followed with a discussion of the relations between pharmaceutical commerce and public health care with respect to global AIDS treatment initiatives (27:2). In the current issue (27:3), Heather Battles (McMaster) and Dr. Lenore Manderson (Monash) comment on the “Ashley Treatment” and its implications in regards to the public debate on the care of children with profound and multiple disabilities. In the final issue of 2008 (27:4), Dr. Vincanne Adams (UC-San Francisco) and colleagues outlined the need for “Global Health Diplomacy” which attends to the “dual goals” of improving global health and bettering international relations, with special concern for “conflict areas” and “resource-poor environments.” Dr. Sarah Pinto (Tufts) kicked off 2009 (28:1) with commentary on the "challenges" that an ethical language of abandonment used in psychiatric hospitals in India poses for families.
  • In the current issue (28:3) a plague of medical anthropologists wade into the timely issue of the H1N1 flu. Dr. Mark Nichter (Arizona) and Dr. Charles Briggs (UC-Berekely) comment upon the flu and the discourse about biosecurity and global health citizenship that surrounds it. It is their opinion that medical anthropology is absolutely crucial for a better informed public able to determine the factors and actors involved in knowledge production used in 'fighting' pandemics such as H1N1. Dr. Merrill Singer (Connecticut) raises important questions concerning the capacity of medical anthropology to respond usefully to such disease outbreaks and their health and social consequences. Finally, Dr. Laëtitia Atlani-Duault (Nanterre Paris X University) and Dr. Carl Kendall (Tulane) consider the under-discussed social effects of a truly massive global catastrophe that include the issues of communication, responding to predictable inappropriate reactions, preparation of populations for these effects, or using local population resources in the epidemic.
  • Stay tuned to each and every issue of Medical Anthropology – a truly international forum for medical anthropology – for more exciting, timely, and crucial insights in the social and cultural conditions at home and worldwide that impact health and medicine

SMA Conference Schedule

Podcasted SMA Sessions for SfAA

Check out the podcasted sessions from the SfAA meetings - many SMA sponsored sessions can be found there - and many many thanks to the SfAA for recording/processing/posting these sessions