Adele Kibbe
There is no particular quality in myself that led me to this topic, which could not be extended to most people, so far as I can tell. Curiosity about the body, meeting ground of material and immaterial forces that can either heal or hurt appears to be widespread. There are incidents in each of our own life stories where we have experienced illness along with the successes and failures of one or many medical system(s) at treating pain and disease.
However, there are certain particularities of my own life course which have put me in a favorable position to study how biomedicine is combined with herbal medicine and the services of folk healers in order to treat sickness in the rural Charente region of France. My mother’s family lives in the area, and as a result of spending a lot of time there, I am fluent in French and have several contacts which will be very useful in terms of establishing rapport with healers and other residents. Because France has an accessible universal healthcare system, patients are free to choose which services they will obtain from biomedical doctors and for which services they will turn to alternative therapies/folk healers. In this way, the pattern of their choices will reflect which symptoms each medical system has been effective in treating.
There are certain characteristics of this study that I find particularly interesting and relevant to broader topics in Medical Anthropology and our daily lives as citizens of societies in which biomedicine is a dominant system (or is it really? Previous research on a similar topic revealed a popular dissatisfaction with biomedicine that ran deeper than I expected, along with frequent use of homeopathy and other “alternative” medicines).
First of all, I would like to participate in Anthropology’s continuing re-invention of itself, building on the work of predecessors. While in the early years Europeans went to study “primitives” and their exotic shamans, I would like to turn my eye to the ex-colonial power of France, one of my home countries, and it’s shamans (locally known by such names as “ rebouteux”, “ magnetisuers” and “sorcieres”) to debunk the idea that such healers are/were in any way exotic. The particular names and methods are different, but calling on “supernatural” (or natural, not-yet-understood-by-current-science) forces is certainly not an unfamiliar thing in France.
Second of all, I am trying to challenge the hegemony of contemporary biomedicine and argue that while it is an extremely valuable and effective system, it is not all-encompassing and can benefit from being complimented and combined with local folk traditions of healing. In the same way, folk remedies may fail at treating certain ailments and having accessible biomedicine while preserving and using local knowledge is important. However, the latter part of the equation will not be dealt with extensively in my paper as there is no access issue in France.
What I am getting at is that the coexistence of different medical systems is desired by patients, and various forms of healing have much to learn from one another.
In the context of my life at this moment, this project holds an important place. Unsure of whether I will combine Ethnology with Medical Anthropology or Archaeology as a career, I am excited to get out into the field and do hands-on research. In this case, doing the work of a Medical Anthropologist (albeit in a clumsy and inexperienced way) will allow me to see how the life is, and eventually help me make a decision about which path to take. I may even get treated by a magnetiseur or other healer!
I am wary of making grandiose claims that my project will help other people or change their lives, I believe that if given the possibility, most people would and/or do use several medical systems. I will be happy to gain insight into how and why different medical systems interact with each other.
September 22nd, 2010 at 1:27 pm
Adele,
Your statement and the exercise you did in class have a certain combination that is both too general and wonderfully specific at the same time—so I’d like you to work on making the general claims more focused as well. The specificity that I am applauding is due in part to your family’s location in the Charente region that you will be investigating. You also have a clear center of attention on the intersection between biomedicine and herbal medicine that is used in that region. Your move toward generalities has to do with establishing which form treats certain symptoms best. This is yet to be demonstrated and may well be something that cannot be demonstrated in any clear fashion. The research into specific practices will have to come first.
I need to be filled in more on how you will do this research. Are you going there for the break?
Your goal of questioning the dominance of contemporary biomedicine may end up being a 4th point (as chapter 5 in the text suggests), one that allows you a kind of conclusion that points to larger issues. For now, try to keep your research focused on the forms of medicine operating the region, indicating the treatments and practitioners, the patients and the symptoms. Your conclusions about effectiveness may have to wait. But you can give readers a clearer picture of the integration of the 2 different forms of healing and the extent to which they are utilized by patients (and my some doctors in the area).
September 22nd, 2010 at 2:25 pm
Hello!
I should have been more clear in explaining how i was going to approach my thesis:
I am applying for a Tow-Furman grant to go do ethnographic research in my family’s region over winter break.
The general ideas expressed about combining medical practices and beliefs (such as the idea that biomedicine is more effective at treating certain illnesses etc) come from previous research on the topic.
I have already questioned certain family members over the phone about their medical practices. I have also read the work of anthropologist Ellen Badone who writes about folk healers and magical ideas in contemporary France, such as belief in the power of Celtic standing stones called “Menhirs”.
Any conclusions about how and why people combine medical practices must be determined by further research in the area (fingers crossed, hopefully i will get the grant!) The generalities are part of my hypothesis, derived from the small amount of research i have already done.
What i plan to do in the future is interview at least one healer (a magnetiseur who helped my aunt with a broken arm), a biomedical doctor (who treated my strep throat), employees of two local pharmacies (who are qualified to give medical advice, change bandages and administer first aid) as well as local people.
I will ask each one to recall episodes of illness over the last three years and tell me how they treated the symptoms and why they chose each particular form of treatment.
Why would they divulge such personal information?
In rural France, aches and pains are a popular subject of conversation. I’m not expecting anyone to tell me about their genital herpes (although i am ready to be surprised) but i know they are more than willing to talk about their sprained ankles and bouts of stomach flu. In fact i am already aware of the chronic ailments endured by many residents of the small town in which my family lives…i even know the health histories of some of their dogs.
I have yet to refine the interview technique to be used, but i have a few ideas in mind, based on previous interviews conducted in my father’s building in New York. I also plan to add other techniques particularly adapted to the population i am studying, such as “ethnosemantic elicitation” or using local jargon to conjure ideas of local pracices and establish myself as an “insider” to the group i am studying (which is at least partially true)
anyways… rambling on… (see, i do write too much!)
See you in class!!!