Having heard the class presentations on the principles governing the practice of medicine in Japan and among the Hausa of Niger, having completed the reading of Anne Fadiman's THE SPIRIT CATCHES YOU AND YOU FALL DOWN and having participated in the class discussions on the reading material, write a three page essay in which you describe briefly the diagnosis and course of treatment her American doctors advocated for their Hmong patient in the Fadiman book, then critique both the diagnosis and the prescribed treatment from each of the three Nonwestern points of view discussed in this section of the course (Hmong, Japanese and Hausa).

The specific questions that follow can be used in formulating your general response to this essay assignment but need not each be addressed separately.

How would each cultural community have viewed the "epileptic seizures" being experienced by the American doctor's Hmong patient? How would each have interpreted their observations of her medical condition? Why? What might each have advocated to return the patient to "good health"? How would each have defined "good health" in this particular case?

How did the Hmong community in fact view the diagnosis and course of treatment advocated by the American medical community? How might each of the other two Nonwestern cultures we have studied have viewed the diagnosis and course of treatment advocated by the American doctors? What were the primary bases for the differences in their approaches to medical care?

What does all this have to tell us about the role of "power" and "authority" in the practice of medicine across a variety of cultures? Why do American medical practices appear so distinct from those of other parts of the world? What does this say about the "power" and "authority" accorded science in the West? Is this trust always well placed or should we question the dependence on science as the sole source of "truth" lying behind current medical practices within our own society?