I asked the students to write a review of the class on a small piece of paper. The comment should not exceed one side of the paper and could be positive, negative, an idea or comment. This is an experiment that I will build on. I truly wanted to know the pros and cons of using multimedia engagement and am pleased with the response. Thanks to all of the students for effort and participation!
This week we draw on media found online to consider global health and human rights. In the video embedded here, Hans Rosling talks about gapminder.org. He shows us that we need to stop talking about 'developed' and 'developing' countries and to think more specifically about individual countries, local situations and the relation to structures of governance both nationally and globally. In class we will play with the gapminder graphs and critically consider the discourse of global health rights.
There has been a major transition, in the way that health is perceived within postmodernity from modernity. There is now a conception, that we are to be held responsible for our own health. In terms of Foucault's notion of bio-power, this would suggest that we have the power to manage our life processes without political involvement. The technologies of self, we often use to to constitute our bodies as healthy, include engaging in regular exercise, eating a balanced diet and going to see a doctor when ill.
Expert knowledge is not always relied upon when we are unwell. This is partly due to the advancement in technology, e.g. the internet which allows people to diagnose themselves, against the symptoms they have. Doctors themselves sometimes do this, when dealing with clients (as Frank would call them) whose symptoms they are unsure about. The development in technology has also made a wide range of commodities available for our consumption which can be seen as beneficial for our health. This can include health supplements and exercise related products, to name a few. The increasing availability of these types of products suggest that we have greater control over our lifestyle choices. However, not all the choices we make are in relation to our internal health. Eating a balanced diet can be due to concerns with physical appearance rather than health for example. This can sometimes be partly influenced by the media which tends to portray an attractive person as someone who is slim etc. AngelaA good example is healthy eating, eating meat in particular. I class myself as a relatively healthy eater and I tend to be very careful about what I eat.
As a health-conscious person I try not to eat pork as there has been a lot of talk about the damage pork meat can do to your body. I recently checked out a very interesting website and was surprised to find out that pork could actually be a healthy choice as it is rich in iron and protein. This is a very good example as it shows that what we are told changes as time goes by. It questions the credibility of medical authority and/or knowledge. In my view, we tend to get obsessed with sicence and what is or is not health. Furthermore, we are often surprised to find out that what we thought was 'true' or the 'right choice' years ago appears to be otherwise as science 'progresses' or more research is done. It is almost like a craze or a new trend that everyone seems to be following until something else comes up or gets discovered which totally changes the perspective from which we see the world.
My example raises important questions about postmodernity where people are told what the right thing to do is. Perhaps, there is no 'right' or 'wrong' and we need to learn to accept the fact that things are never fragmented they are never separate in that everything is interconnected. This view questions not only the credibility and/or power of medicine but also science in general.
-- Ivo
The BBC's digital television channel BBC 3 has several programmes throughout its programming bill which focus on healthy bodies predominantly for teens and young adults.
There are programmes on safe but enjoyable sexual practices, good and bad dietary practices and programmes on maintaining healthy relationships and work practices. Some programmes are posed directly with a friendly and youthful health practitioner, some are presented as a drama, comedy or a mixture of both with no direct link to the authoritative institution which writes them.
The programmes always promote a discursive relationship to bodies, whether it is a patient, 'well' informed on various conditions discussing symptoms with a health professional or a group of young people discussing relationships yet bringing about a morally 'good' outcome to various dilemmas.
The stories follow definite paths, the young person must acknowledge the presence of a medical/moral dilemma, will go through a process of learning then discuss with a figure of governance, a doctor or perhaps a teacher, they will then be diagnosed and engage in healthy or safe practice.
Important is the notion of discourse, that the young people are presented as being an active part of a debate on wellness, yet if they stray from healthy sexual, dietary, and relationship practices the real port of call is that of an institution, a health service , teacher, or dietician who can 'end' the discourse and restore 'normal' bodily life.
My issues with these broadcasts are not with the engagement with data on health but the notion of a patient who is more than a passive taker of medicine but a source of data themselves, and a body with a memory. That memory is of illness, diagnosis and a cure or treatment for a disease, scare, or disorder.
The role of authority ends here but the nature of illness and wellness reflecting within the subject does not. There is a whole narrative missing and this is one of life after illness or life with illness, which exists in the patient, an unrealised authority and an unrespected resource.
-- Ed
Since the start of my teenage years I feel as though I have been the centre of a hyper-health crisis which has been encouraged by government campaigns aimed at teenagers i.e. sexual health awareness, obesity, cervical cancer, etc. Having parents of Caribbean descent I have felt an increased need to eat 'healthy'. People of Caribbean and South Asian descent are increasingly targeted by advertisements in magazines and at the doctor's to raise awareness of Caribbean and South Asians' increased risk of getting high blood pressure and diabetes.
This affects my everyday choices in terms of what I should eat. Should I eat mom's cooking? Do I snack on fizzy drinks and crisps? Should I change the way I cook food from my country?
I feel as though advertisements are primarily responsible for my health and I am accountable if I do get high blood pressure or other health issues linked to those of Caribbean descent.
-- Charlie
