Category Archives: News

In her opening ceremony, Ana Maurine Lara makes the claim that “given knowledge and language… there is a responsibility to enact that knowledge and that language, and to render with great care the many ways of being that have sustained … Continue reading →

This week, we read the chapters “Opening Ceremony” and “Altars-puntos” of Queer Freedom : Black Sovereignty (2020) by Dominican American Anthropologist Ana-Maurine Lara. More than an ethnography, this piece serves as a ceremonial ofrenda to the complex, unclear : unknowing, intersecting, time-space oriented, physical-social, … Continue reading →

In the introduction, the author talks about a drug detoxification clinic in New Mexico’s Espanola Valley. This area is where a lot of heroin addictions occur and it often results in deaths. I found the stories of the people that … Continue reading →

As we continue reading several of the bestselling ethnographies of the twenty-first century, I can’t help but continue to think about some of the recurring themes and trends these ethnographies have in common. For instance, violence. This week’s The Pastoral Clinic: … Continue reading →

As I went through this reading I was struck by many of the same things as Stephanie. I think it also has to do with the fact that I am also currently studying and preparing to be involved in the … Continue reading →

“A few plots down was Danny’s grave. His small mound was com- pletely covered with toys. Teddy bears and Matchbox cars and cowboys- and-Indians figurines. Little blond angels and superheroes. Dozens of crosses and Jesuses and Virgins and pinwheels that … Continue reading →

In a world where healthcare systems often fall short, the power of community care shines through in the context of Garcia’s poignant narrative. The difficulties that families in the Española Valley have when coping with addiction are highlighted through the scope … Continue reading →

The key theme that stood out to me from Garcia’s book was that of care. In the first chapter, care was palpable in Andrés’ question of whether Garcia wanted to “observe” or to “work.” Beyond being a great example of participant … Continue reading →

The two chapters of this book were really surprising. The way that women that underwent either an induced or spontaneous abortion are treated really poorly in countries where abortion is illegal, such as Senegal. Some of the practices like digital … Continue reading →

Having read “Introduction: PAC as Reproductive Governance” and Chapter 3 “‘We Wear White Coats, Not Uniforms’: Abortion Surveillance in Hospitals” in Siri Suh’s (2021) Dying to Count: Post-abortion Care and Global Reproductive Health Politics in Senegal I find myself very appreciative of … Continue reading →

“Spending money on an intervention may in fact be more critical to establishing political credibility within a short period of time than rigorously determining the intervention’s cost-effectiveness over long-term intervals” (110). This quotation in chapter four really grabbed me, gave … Continue reading →

After reading the introduction and chapter 3 I definitely have to say that I am on the same boat as Mandy. Prior to reading this text I had an idea of what PAC might look like and how abortions would … Continue reading →

From the very beginning of her work, Suh’s book threw me for a loop. On page two, Suh notes that between a quarter and a third of women in Senegalese prisons are there on abortion or infanticide charges. A quarter … Continue reading →

Siri Suh thoroughly documents what she calls “reproductive governance” in three different hospitals in Senegal. She links this phenomenon and PAC (Post-Abortion-Care) practices to the Foucauldian concept of biopower that is to say, the practice of modern nation states and … Continue reading →

The tradition of midwifery in Mexico showcases not only that the marginalized groups have to find alternative ways to get health services, but also their resilience. Through struggle, these groups are able to adapt new practices. In Chapter 3, we … Continue reading →

What stood out to me while reading this text was the way that Dixon made the distinction between global health as a noun and then as a verb. In her distinction between the two, she addresses the way that ‘infrastructural … Continue reading →