*Apologies for cross-posting*

CALL FOR PAPERS
BODIES IN TRANSITION – POWER, KNOWLEDGE AND MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
EASA Medical Anthropology Network
2017 Biannual Conference Network Meeting
5-7 July, Lisbon, Portugal
Local organization: Portuguese Anthropological Association (APA)
Venue: University of Lisbon, Institute of Social Sciences (Av. Prof. Aníbal Bettencourt, 9)
Deadline for paper proposals:  April 1st, 2017


We warmly invite abstracts for the panel entitled 'Sensations and Symptoms: embodied experiences and responses to illness'

Coordinators: Christina Dobson & Fredrik Nyman

http://medanthlisbon2017.apantropologia.org/p14/

Short abstract:

This panel will explore embodied experiences and responses to deviant bodily states, considering how transitions from ‘sensation’ to ‘symptom’, ‘normal’ to ‘abnormal’ and ‘person’ to ‘patient’ are shaped by the knowledge and power of the lay person, the practitioner, the policy maker and society.

Long abstract:

People’s experiences of, and responses to, sensations and symptoms are shaped by individual imagination and memory, the socio-cultural context in which they are experienced, and the synchronous bodies of knowledge – lay, medical and governmental – that place competing obligations upon individuals.
     A sensation is an embodied experience that breaks the silence and equilibrium of ‘normal’ functioning. Only those sensations which transcend an individual’s parameters of acceptability come to be perceived of as symptoms. Unlike sensations, which are an integral part of everyday experience, symptoms are symbols of deviant bodily states and indicators of potential illness.  Symptoms must be appraised and responded to, either through self-care, or through the involvement of others, both lay and professional.
     For those who choose to seek help for their symptoms (approximately 20% of the symptomatic population) consultation with a practitioner transforms the symptom once more, from a symbol of ‘illness’ to a symbol of ‘disease’.  The practitioner’s act of recasting illness as disease, through the identification of aetiology and provision of treatment, results in a further transformation for the symptomatic individual, who moves from being a  ‘person’ to a ‘patient’. Non legitimisation of symptoms by practitioners (often amongst those with vague symptoms or chronic conditions), challenges individuals’  interpretations of embodied experience, with dismissal of symptom legitimacy having lasting implications for future experience of,  and response to, ‘abnormal’ bodily states.
     This panel explores sensations, symptoms and responses to illness in relation to the lay and biomedical discourses and clinical paradigms that define and construct them, seeking to reflect upon experiences of acute and chronic conditions, from sensation identification to negotiation within the clinical encounter.  We welcome papers that complicate traditional dualisms (i.e. normal/abnormal, lay/clinical) and consider how different sources of power govern these processes.


If you would like to be considered for this panel please send your abstract to Christina Dobson ([log in to unmask]) by 1st April 2017. Paper proposals will be considered by the panel coordinators and accepted papers will be announced on 15th April 2017. 

Paper proposals should be in English and should contain paper title, short abstract (max. 50 words), long abstract (max 300 words), name and email of paper proponent and institutional affiliation. 

*************************************************************
*           Anthropology-Matters Mailing List
*  http://www.anthropologymatters.com            *
* A postgraduate project comprising online journal,    *
* online discussions, teaching and research resources  *
* and international contacts directory.               *
* To join this list or to look at the archived previous       *
* messages visit:                                             *
* http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/Anthropology-Matters.HTML   *
* If you have ALREADY subscribed: to send a message to all    *
* those currently subscribed to the list,just send mail to:   *
*        [log in to unmask]                  *
*                                                             *
*       Enjoyed the mailing list? Why not join the new        *
*       CONTACTS SECTION @ www.anthropologymatters.com        *
*    an international directory of anthropology researchers
*
* To unsubscribe: please log on to jiscmail.ac.uk, and            *
* go to the 'Subscriber's corner' page.                                  *
*
***************************************************************