Global Health: An Anthropological Perspective

Affordable and conceptually accessible, this succinct volume captures the distinctive anthropological perspective on global health issues for undergraduates in the social and health sciences. Ideal for professors who want to add an experiential human face, a cultural dimension, and an emic understanding of health in cross-cultural contexts to interdisciplinary course content, Global Health exposes the day-to-day health challenges people around the world face. Key to its message is that, despite strides in improving worldwide health, human impacts on the environment, violent social conflict, and increasing social inequality diminish the success of global health initiatives to protect against illness, disability, and death.

Readers, gripped by the impact of undeniable, far-reaching realities such as global warming, infectious disease, food insecurity, water crises, war and genocide, and refugee crises, will learn to apply a holistic, anthropological framework in search of solutions to such complex biosocial conditions.

Title of related interest also available from Waveland Press: Van Arsdale, Global Human Rights: People, Processes, and Principles (ISBN 9781478632948).

"Wonderfully concise yet example-filled, this important contribution to a new field of study introduces readers to how the theory and uses of medical anthropology can help tackle mounting challenges of global health." --Peter J. Brown, Emory University

"This is an astounding text that encompasses the global perspective through the eyes of anthropologists. The scholarship is holistic and very comprehensive. I plan to adopt it for my cultural diversity in health and illness course." --Jody Glittenberg, Metropolitan State University

"This is an excellent little book raising the consciousness of students about the toxic threats in our environment, its consequences, and what we can do about it." --Ron Reminick, Cleveland State University