Author’s note: At Anthro Analyst, we often analyze societal issues about public health from an anthropological perspective. In doing so, we try to provide unique insight into global public health trends and offer unique commentary from the perspective of high-school students. This is the first episode of our podcast which provides us a great platform to discuss anthropological ideas in…
Author: Soham Govande
How social distancing affects a social species: A survey-based study of high school students
Public health experts have concluded that coronavirus is one of the greatest threats of this century. In the last month, our cities have transformed from busy hubs of commerce and activity into ghost towns. It’s clear that the world will be impacted by this pandemic for many years to come. Yet, paralleling the havoc outside, this chaos has impacted our…
Moving beyond medicine: Using the social determinants of health to address public health disparities
Author’s note: This is the first post in a series in which I’ll write about international public health disparities and societal factors contributing to public health. In these posts, I’ll delve into my journey into the field of public health, specifically focusing on eye care/visual impairments in underprivileged communities, while describing my experiences along the way. Although the traditional approach…
Xenophobic narratives surrounding the coronavirus have spread as quickly as the deadly disease itself
Last Updated: 2/28/2020, 9:42 PM CST – Section on Chinese wildlife consumption. In the last few weeks, the coronavirus, officially termed COVID-19 by the World Health Organization (WHO), has infected thousands around the world. As of February 27th, it has been responsible for almost 3,000 deaths and more than 80,000 cases over 50 countries. Escalating from a few isolated cases…
Culture clash: Examining global trends of society, culture, and leadership during periods of global turmoil
Author’s note: This post is the fourth part of a series discussing ideas from Gods of the Upper Air: How a Circle of Renegade Anthropologists Reinvented Race, Sex, and Gender in the Twentieth Century. To read the previous post, click here. Undoubtedly, the World War II era was one of the most violent and turbulent eras in history. Resulting in…
Digital eye strain in 2019: Problems, causes, and possible solutions
We Americans spend 42% of our hours awake connected to devices, a figure trending upwards over the past five years. Sound startling? It is—studies show that this increased digital time may be responsible for the recent rise in myopia and other visual impairments across the population. Is there anything we can do to prevent this? Perhaps more importantly, are such…
Eugenics, intelligence, and superiority: How quantifying human value created a history of invisible violence
Author’s note: This post is the third part of a series discussing ideas from Gods of the Upper Air: How a Circle of Renegade Anthropologists Reinvented Race, Sex, and Gender in the Twentieth Century. To read the previous post, click here. Human intelligence and creativity are truly amazing phenomena, unique to us among billions of species. Indeed, these two traits…
How museums today reflect an ethnological shift away from societal hierarchy
Author’s note: This post is the second part of a series discussing ideas from Gods of the Upper Air: How a Circle of Renegade Anthropologists Reinvented Race, Sex, and Gender in the Twentieth Century. To read the first post, click here. Museums—Torchlit hallways. Beautiful sculptures. Timeless artifacts. What’s not to love? From yellowing journals from the 16th century to dinosaur…
The timeless influence of cultural relativism on society today
Author’s note: This post is the first part of a series discussing ideas from Gods of the Upper Air: How a Circle of Renegade Anthropologists. I am looking forward to discuss cultural anthropology on this blog! The field of cultural anthropology was born almost 150 years ago, and since then, it has been influential in today’s societal perceptions of race,…
On public health inequality: The greatest challenge we face
Five pills rattle from a plastic prescription vial into my grandfather’s cupped palms. He beckons me to his side for help. This is a feeling that I know too well—over the last few years, his health has been declining due to his kidney failure. I’m glad that we are there to take care of him as his body copes with…