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Ethnography response paper
Term Paper ID:37625
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Essay Subject:
This paper highlights a couple of sections from the book Dancing Skeletons by Katherine ...... More...
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3 Pages / 675 Words
1 sources, 2 Citations,
MLA Format
$12.00
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Paper Abstract:
This paper highlights a couple of sections from the book Dancing Skeletons by Katherine A. Dettwyler. It uses them to look at the attitudes of the author towards the work she and others are doing, and how these sections reveal her own innder conflicts about her work.
Paper Introduction:
p first paragraph regarding philosophy of giving medication tochildren with schistosomiasis knowing full well they would be reinfected and the money spent on medicine wasted This paragraph is very telling about the attitude of the authortowards the people she is studying and her inability to help them in ameaningful way She knows the children are getting schistosomiasis fromgoing into the river and knows that because of the culture she cannotstop this because the river is their way of life In spite of
Text of the Paper:
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Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press Inc. This paragraph is very telling about the attitude of the authortowards the people she is studying and her inability to help them in ameaningful way. Instead of being angry, she should have been helpful,suggesting how they could help these children further by institutingnutritional programs and teaching the villagers about nutrition and itsimportance in growing children particularly. They were probably enuredto seeing starving children all over Africa so the physical appearance ofthe children probably left no impression on them. If she truly believes this, she should use the money for some betterpurpose. She knows that they will not be able to afford to continuetaking the medications, so her efforts to treat the disease are useless.She is trying to assuage her own guilt by giving the medication, yet sheknows full well that it will not help. 1994. The author admits that she is carrying out these studies for her ownsatisfaction, and is giving the medication out as a kind of reward for thepeople's cooperation in providing urine and fecal specimens for herresearch. She wrestled with the conflict of what she was doing in the previouscase, and here she is accusing the CARE representatives of the same kind ofthing. It is sometimes difficult to prioritize when so muchneeds to be done. Her studies are not going to add much to the bank ofknowledge that already exists. The author, as aphysical anthropologist, noticed it immediately. p. She isgoing through an internal struggle, knowing she is only making a gesture,and not really helping, as she could if she really thought out a soundresearch project.pp.142-145 - the dancing skeletons Here the writer changes tune, and takes on CARE for not doinganything worthwhile for the nutritional status children of the village.They have provided wells for clean drinking water, improved sanitation,immunized mothers-to-be against tetanus which was killing many newborns,and immunized the children against most common childhood diseases, taughtthem about growing vegetables, introduced them to carrots, but theirnutritional status was so bad that they looked like "dancing skeletons."The people from CARE had not even noticed this. It is an empty gesture. They are more organized and do provide useful services at least -perhaps she realized this and it emphasized even more the futility of whatshe was doing. They know what is best for people in theirown, industrialized, relatively well-off cities and towns, so that is whatthey throw at these people, without thinking it through first and assessingthe situation from all angles to see how they can best help. She knows the children are getting schistosomiasis fromgoing into the river, and knows that because of the culture, she cannotstop this because the river is their way of life. As sheherself admits, it is a waste of money. 47 - first paragraph regarding philosophy of giving medication tochildren with schistosomiasis, knowing full well they would be reinfected,and the money spent on medicine wasted. A lot is already known about schistosomiasis and suchparasitic diseases. Her attitude is summed upwhen, on being asked what she suggests they should do, all she can offer isthe idea of a "massive airlift to Oklahoma!" Works CitedDettwyler, Katherine A. Perhaps she needs to study something else, another problem whereshe can really help. Dancing Skeletons: life and Death in WestAfrica. This paragraph suggests she already knowsthis and is trying to reconcile her deeds with her conscience. It harks backto the previous situation where the author gave out expensive anti-schistosomiasis drugs which she knew would be useless, yet did it anyway,rather than using the funding for something more practical for thesepeople, such as educating them in a way they could understand about thedangers of going in the river, or providing them an alternative lifestylevia wells, farming options, alternate renewable food sources, or improvedsanitation rather than the open pits she describes. What she noticed was so typical of outsiders trying to help people insuch beleaguered circumstance. In spite of this, shegives them costly medications, which she knows will not cure the disease,will not prevent it from recurring because they will continue to go intothe water, and that they believe the appearance of blood in the urine ofyoung boys at adolescence is a sign of sexual maturity, just asmenstruation is in a girl, and don't recognize it as a sign of a disease. Perhaps she realized that they were slowly making progress,and that they had been sent to the village to advise on the next steps thatneeded to be taken.
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