We've been in Boston a little over two weeks now, and it has been good. I spent a week with Peter (Rohloff), and his friend Andrea, at his new place in Jamaica Plain. He recently began his intern year in IM/Peds at BWH. It was a good week for me, mainly bumming around and spending time with Andrea (and Peter, when he was home). We went to Vermont over the weekend, which was really nice--we got to spend some time with Peter's parents and see the beautiful place he calls home. It reminded me a lot of Ixin Ulew.
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I am auditing a class on global health delivery, which is a "new" science (it only seems somewhat new to me, honestly; the innovation in it is really more in the integrated application of existing ideas and technologies to particular settings/populations) being developed my Jim Kim. It is very interesting to me because it provides a forum for thinking through, in an intensive case-based way, a lot of obstacles and issues similar to the ones we faced last year (or rather, continue to face) in our work with the health promoters.
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My job is also good. I am working with a few different people to develop a course that will be taught by Paul Farmer, Jim Kim and Arthur Kleinman. It is entitled, "Case Studies in Global Health." It is going to provide a very theoretically deep perspective on the history of and contemporary issues in global health. Very cool. I am learning a lot!
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The health promoters are having problems, similar to the ones they often face. I talked to Vicente and Dominga this morning, and ever so briefly I felt like I was sitting in the centro comunitario in K'ix Ya', speaking Kaqchikel to Dominga and Spanish to Vicente, thinking through things with them and expressing my support and sympathy for their difficulties.
I miss Ixin Ulew!!!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
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I want to hear more about the "Case Studies in Global Health" and Dr. Jim Kim's GHD course.
The case studies in global health course is going to be very cool. It looks like it is going to begin with what to me, as someone with very little real social science background, seems like a very deep theoretical introduction: a critical sociology of knowledge with respect to global health.
So, starting with readings from Weber, Foucault, Berger and Luckmann, and Merton (my co-worker Matt Basilico wants to incorporate Marx, Wallerstein, and Baba, too), the course will go on to look critically at the history of global health. It is shaping up to be an incredibly unique and amazing course...every meeting we have, I am struck by how historic this process feels.
The GHD course ended on Thursday. It was very interesting--I was telling someone the other day that the classroom simulation was very cool, and reminded me a lot of the issues we dealt (or deal) with in Guatemala on a micro scale. Of course, it is hard to make every minute count because they really are going for a case based method, but overall I enjoyed the class. And it is absolutely amazing to hear Dr. Farmer, Dr. Kim, Dr. Gonzalez, Dr. Rhatigan and guests (there was a guest discussant nearly every day, very often from the field site we were discussing!) expound on their perspectives on different issues.
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