Samri-Post 2

"Medicine was religion. Religion was society. Society was medicine" (Fadiman 60). This is perhaps the most poignant and generally relevant line in this reading. This statement is a powerful reaffirmation that the study of medicine is equally as anthropological as it is scientific (if not more so). This is especially true in immigrant communities where culture and tradition vary significantly from American (or "Western") style of treatment. This leads inevitably to the politics of cultural relativism: is American medicine more "correct" or legitimate? How does this phenomenon dictate policies/practices surrounding healthcare services? Is there a cultural superiority complex which ultimately results in adverse effects when it comes to equal, humane, and sensitive access to healthcare to under served (immigrant) communities?