Second Spear is a discipline-focused blog where essay format explorations of medical anthropology themes and topics are shared. Second Spear essays should be presented as collections, curated by an editor or group. These collections might emerge from conference panels, workshops, or other collectives working together on a topic. Second Spear aims to provide insight and explanations that go beyond the obvious, and that call for multiple perspectives and explanations.
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At the 2019 AAA meetings in Vancouver, SMA announced and awarded its first ever Hazel Weidman Award for Exemplary Service to the Society for Medical Anthropology, and the inaugural recipient was Alan Harwood. The introduction for the award delivered by then President Arachu Castro, and the acceptance speech by Professor Emeritus… (Continue Reading)
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What is the Defense Base Act (DBA)? This question begins the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section of a website about a workers’ compensation insurance program. FAQs are lists of questions and answers that offer readers commonly sought information about one or more topics. The DBA FAQ addresses topics such as the… (Continue Reading)
Blog Series: The Anthropology of “Boring” Things
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Fieldnote, Primary Care Clinic, Monday Morning: I am sitting in the nurses’ station, which holds three computers and a printer, as well as cupboards of supplies. The space is narrow and I am only a few feet behind two of the registered nurses who work side by side at their computers.… (Continue Reading)
Blog Series: The Anthropology of “Boring” Things
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In her TED talk, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie warns of the Dangers of a Single Story (https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story/transcript). She talks about her childhood growing up in Nigeria and of Fide, her family’s house boy. Her mother had told her that Fide’s family was poor. When Adichie visited Fide’s village she admired the baskets… (Continue Reading)
Blog Series: The Anthropology of “Boring” Things
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In Australia, public health insurance cards are known as Medicare cards. The name of the public health insurer is Medicare, and both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians, including permanent Australian residents use and are familiar with the card. Ngyiampaa Aboriginal Australians consider these Medicare cards ‘boring objects’ because they are one… (Continue Reading)
Blog Series: The Anthropology of “Boring” Things
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Life, friends, is boring. We must not say so.After all, the sky flashes, the great sea yearns,we ourselves flash and yearn,and moreover my mother told me as a boy(repeatingly) ‘Ever to confess you’re boredmeans you have noInner Resources.’ I conclude now I have noinner resources, because I am heavy bored.—John… (Continue Reading)
Blog Series: The Anthropology of “Boring” Things