But are they actually healthier?
A holistic definition of ‘health’ remains difficult to operationalize, despite decades of attempts by medical anthropologists and the World Health Organization to do so. Anthropologists routinely reject dichotomous notions – belief vs. knowledge, wellness vs. health, mental vs. physical, environment...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Edinburgh Library
2018-12-01
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| Series: | Medicine Anthropology Theory |
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| Online Access: | http://www.medanthrotheory.org/article/view/4899 |
| _version_ | 1818926894084521984 |
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| author | Kristina Baines |
| author_facet | Kristina Baines |
| author_sort | Kristina Baines |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A holistic definition of ‘health’ remains difficult to operationalize, despite decades of attempts by medical anthropologists and the World Health Organization to do so. Anthropologists routinely reject dichotomous notions – belief vs. knowledge, wellness vs. health, mental vs. physical, environment vs. self – yet demands for physiological evidence of ‘health’ persist. In this article, I ask what evidence would sufficiently demonstrate health, and explore the possibility of measures that move beyond the physiological. Using ethnographic data collected in indigenous Maya communities in Belize and in immigrant communities in New York City, I argue that ecological heritage practices can provide a lens through which to locate and collect evidence of health, holistically defined. Developing a framework of ‘embodied ecological heritage’ (EEH), I discuss how communities and individuals communicate and measure health as part of everyday ecological activities, which they describe as ‘traditional’ or ‘heritage’ practices. Theorizing unexpected links and feedback loops, which cross temporal, spatial, and social boundaries, I assert that health is connected to practice through tangible, embodied experience and that ethnography thus provides powerful evidence to understand and define it. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T03:04:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bbee452647b646ce9041dc06ab83b4a4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2405-691X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T03:04:22Z |
| publishDate | 2018-12-01 |
| publisher | University of Edinburgh Library |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Medicine Anthropology Theory |
| spelling | doaj.art-bbee452647b646ce9041dc06ab83b4a42022-12-21T19:55:40ZengUniversity of Edinburgh LibraryMedicine Anthropology Theory2405-691X2018-12-015510.17157/mat.5.5.4614899But are they actually healthier?Kristina BainesA holistic definition of ‘health’ remains difficult to operationalize, despite decades of attempts by medical anthropologists and the World Health Organization to do so. Anthropologists routinely reject dichotomous notions – belief vs. knowledge, wellness vs. health, mental vs. physical, environment vs. self – yet demands for physiological evidence of ‘health’ persist. In this article, I ask what evidence would sufficiently demonstrate health, and explore the possibility of measures that move beyond the physiological. Using ethnographic data collected in indigenous Maya communities in Belize and in immigrant communities in New York City, I argue that ecological heritage practices can provide a lens through which to locate and collect evidence of health, holistically defined. Developing a framework of ‘embodied ecological heritage’ (EEH), I discuss how communities and individuals communicate and measure health as part of everyday ecological activities, which they describe as ‘traditional’ or ‘heritage’ practices. Theorizing unexpected links and feedback loops, which cross temporal, spatial, and social boundaries, I assert that health is connected to practice through tangible, embodied experience and that ethnography thus provides powerful evidence to understand and define it.http://www.medanthrotheory.org/article/view/4899healthwellnessheritageembodimenttraditional ecological knowledgeenvironment |
| spellingShingle | Kristina Baines But are they actually healthier? Medicine Anthropology Theory health wellness heritage embodiment traditional ecological knowledge environment |
| title | But are they actually healthier? |
| title_full | But are they actually healthier? |
| title_fullStr | But are they actually healthier? |
| title_full_unstemmed | But are they actually healthier? |
| title_short | But are they actually healthier? |
| title_sort | but are they actually healthier |
| topic | health wellness heritage embodiment traditional ecological knowledge environment |
| url | http://www.medanthrotheory.org/article/view/4899 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kristinabaines butaretheyactuallyhealthier |