Ateneo - UPO

The contents of the module will be focused on one hand to grasp some aspects of the "body" as a cultural construction (starting in particular from the concepts of body history and anthropopoiesis, etc.), on the other hand to analyze some specific cases of disease typical of the Italian popular tradition, analyzing some classics of anthropology, such as eg. “La terra del rimorso. Contributo a una storia religiosa del Sud” by Ernesto de Martino (1961) and “L'arco di rovo. Impotenza e aggressività in due rituali del sud” by Alfonso Maria Di Nola (1983). The theme of the family and the processes of building kinship as cultural entities will also be studied in depth.
The cultural construction of the body is increasingly involved in phenomena that pervasively affect and characterize living in contemporary society: the spread of tattoos, the spread of piercing, the search for virtuous food models that are transformed into new forms of "global religion".

A. The slides projected during the course and available in the DIR area.
B. Readings provided by the teacher and available in the DIR area.
Further recommended reading:
- DE MARTINO Ernesto (1961=2015), La terra del rimorso. Contributo a una storia religiosa del Sud, Milano, Il Saggiatore.
- DI NOLA Alfonso Maria (1983), L’arco di rovo. Impotenza e aggressività in due rituali del sud, Torino, Boringhieri.
- REMOTTI Francesco (2013), Fare umanità. I drammi dell’antropo-poiesi, Roma-Bari, Laterza.

Introduce students to the critical knowledge of some basic concepts of cultural anthropology and, more specifically, of medical anthropology. To develop the ability to interpret and critically position some traits of anthropological culture. Knowing how to communicate the acquired knowledge critically using an appropriate terminology.

General culture knowledge deriving from high school.

Seminar reading of some essays on the themes of medical anthropology and anthropology of the body (es. tattooing in contemporary society; female genital mutilation / excision; the cultural context of obesity).

The slides and other materials will be made available in the Dir area of the course.

The course program will be evaluated with a written test (multiple choice test with 30 questions). The time allowed to complete the test is 30 minutes, within the exam of the integrated course of Human Sciences.

Basic concepts of medical anthropology.
The body as a cultural construction.
The anthropopoiesis.
The treatment of the disease in the Italian folk tradition: tarantism and the arch of the bramble.
Seminar activities.

The student must acquire the skills of:
a. understands some basic concepts of medical anthropology;
b. analyze and formulate judgments on the concepts learned;
c. communicate the acquired knowledge using an appropriate terminology;
d. ability to deepen independently the topics covered during the course through bibliographic and terrain research.