Cultural Implications and the Effects of Female Genital Cutting

Follow the instruction provided and must have 10 sources at least. The requirements are attached.

1 ANT 185 Professor Burdick First segment paper topic Due Monday, September 30 by 5 pm Please read this whole document carefully, from start to finish. You need to follow the instructions carefully in order to get a good grade. Please pay special attention to the “Rules” section at the end of the document. I. Please write a 1400-1600 word paper (not including bibliography) on one of the following two topics: Option 1: Report to the Executive Board, Catawba Valley Medical Center Catawba County, North Carolina, is an urban/rural county dotted with small towns and a couple of cities, totaling about 150,000 people. Over the past several years, the county has seen the growth in the Hmong population, which has arrived from Wisconsin and Minnesota. There are currently about 3,000 Hmong in Catwaba County. Recently a number of tensions have arisen at the Catwaba Valley Medical Center (CVMC), one of the County’s main hospitals, between the medical staff and some members of the Hmong community. A Hmong woman refused surgery because she feared loss of soul; parents of a child suffering from hearing problems stopped coming to appointments because they did not trust the doctors; and a man wanted a shaman to perform a soul-calling ceremony but the staff refused, saying this would bother the other patients. The medical staff is not used to these kinds of conflicts. They do not fully understand why they are happening, and they feel stressed. The directors of the CVMC are concerned about their staff and their Hmong patients; and they worry that a growing number of Hmong are avoiding using the medical services of the hospital. They are not sure what to do. Turning to you as a specialist in Hmong culture, the board of directors has asked you to prepare a report that analyzes the problem and makes recommendations. Based on your knowledge of the Hmong and of similar conflicts elsewhere in the United States, your report needs to address the following two questions: a) Why, in your judgment, are the conflicts between the Hmong and the CVMC medical staff occurring? b) What steps do you recommend the CVMC take to respond? In addressing these questions, make sure to do the following: • remember that your audience is the board of directors of the CVMC • explain traditional Hmong ideas about the body, illness, and health, and how these ideas reflect Hmong values around the home and family • explain how these ideas and values are similar to and different from the ideas and values of biomedicine • explain why some members of Hmong community may feel mistrustful of biomedical doctors • Explain what shamanism is, and how it may contribute positively to healing • Lay out a series of recommendations for what the staff at CVMC might do to improve relationships with the Hmong (you may refer to approaches discussed in class and in readings; and earn more points by adding your own original ideas!) 2 Option 2: Report to the Executive Board of the WHO The current position and policy of the World Health Organization (WHO) is to reject any kind of medicalization of FGC. In contrast, a variety of people in governments, non-governmental organizations, and hospitals around the world think that medicalizing FGC is a good idea. The Executive Board of the WHO is debating whether or not to revise its position, and has asked you, as a specialist in FGC, to weigh in. Which side of the medicalization debate do you lean toward, and why? In writing your report, make sure to do the following: • remember that your audience is the Executive Board of the World Health Organization • explain that FGC is not a single practice, but a range of different practices • explain some of the cultural meanings of FGC • explain some of the sexual and health effects of the practice • show that you understand the arguments both for and against medicalization • explain clearly why you lean either for or against medicalization The 9 rules for both papers! 1) All papers must be the correct length. Do not exceed stated limits by more than 100 words. 2) All papers must have your name, name of the course (ANT 185), name of your TA, and date of submission typed clearly in the upper-left hand corner. 3) All papers must have a title placed directly above the first paragraph. 4) All papers must be double-spaced, left-justified, with ample margins, and in12-point font. Pages must be numbered. 5) All papers must use points, examples and ideas drawn from course readings, lectures, films, and discussion. • You must refer to at least four (4) different assigned readings. You may refer to the same reading more than once, but you must bring in at least four different readings at least once. Use the following format: (author, date of publication, page number). For example: (Ahmadu 2000: 283). • You must refer to at least four (4) different points (examples, ideas, concepts) that came up in lectures and/or films. Use the following format: (ANT 185, lecture, date), or (ANT 185, film, date) • You must refer to at least two (2) different points that came up in discussion section. Use the following format: (ANT 185, discussion section, date). 6) Papers must avoid simply asserting positions; instead, they must argue thoughtfully, using evidence and logic. 7) Papers must use correct grammar, sentence structure and spelling 8) Papers must be well-organized. It is good to have an introduction and conclusion. 9) Papers must have a “Bibliography”. Guidelines about how to prepare these will be distributed in the second week of class. This section does not count toward your total world count for the paper.