Fall 2026, CairoShort Course
Medical Anthropology and Doing Social Research
Amplifying Voices and Putting Theory into Practice
Course details
- Cycle
- Fall 2026, Cairo
- Starts
- Wednesday, Nov 18
- Meets
- Wednesday, 18:00–20:00
- Length
- 6 weeks
- Format
- Online
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“In every community there is work to be done. In every nation, there are wounds to heal. In every heart there is the power to do it.” — Marianne Williamson
About the course
This course introduces students to the field of medical anthropology, exploring its historical and contemporary approaches. Students will gain an understanding of the social and cultural determinants of health and illness, and how to conduct person-centered social research. The course will also cover the basics of writing academic articles and reports.
Some of the specific topics that will be covered include:
- What is medical anthropology and what is its approach?
- What is medical anthropology and what is its contemporary approach?
- How can we understand the social and cultural determinants of health and illness?
- What is the difference between qualitative and quantitative research methods?
- What are the frameworks and the tools used to conduct person-centered social research?
- How to balance between voices from the field and theory?
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
- Cover sufficient conceptual and background material on the selected topic.
- Reflect on the literature directly related to theories of medical anthropology.
- Compare and contrast between different research methods and tools.
This course is a great option for students who are interested in learning more about health, culture, development, and society. It is also a valuable introduction to the field of medical anthropology and social research.
Who teaches it
Sohayla is a PhD student, social researcher, medical anthropologist, and sexual and reproductive health and rights specialist, based in Cairo, Egypt. She worked as a research consultant at the American University of Beirut, and she is also a founding member of the East Mediterranean Federation of Sexual Health (EMFeSH). With her advocacy roles, she is focused on intersectionality, structural violence, and gender justice. Throughout her career, she worked on producing journal articles, technical reports, proposals, case studies, evaluation reports, and training manuals. Her research style merges theoretical and fieldwork approaches. She holds an M.A in Social Anthropology and a B.A in Political Science from the American University in Cairo.
Course flow
November 2026
- 1. Delaney and Kaspin. (2017). Introduction: Disorientation and Orientation in In Investigating Culture: An Experiential Introduction to Anthropology
- Eriksen, Thomas H. (2010). “Anthropology: Comparison and Context” In Small Places, Large Issues: An Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology.
- 1. Wiley, A and Allen, J. (2016) Introduction in Medical Anthropology: A biocultural Approach (1-8)
- Introduction in The Routledge Handbook of Medical Anthropology (2-14)
December 2026
- 1. Delaney and Kaspin. (2017). Our Bodies, Our Selves in In Investigating Culture: An Experiential Introduction to Anthropology
- Wiley, A and Allen, J. (2016) Chapter 2: Anthropological Perspectives on Health and Disease in Medical Anthropology: A biocultural Approach.
- 3. Ortner, S. (1974) Is Female to Male as Nature Is to Culture?
- Martin, E. (1991). The Egg and the Sperm: How Science Has Constructed a Romance Based on Stereotypical Male-Female Roles.
- 1. Haselberger, D., Hutterer, R. (2013). Intro: The Person-Centered Approach in Research. In: Cornelius-White, J., Motschnig-Pitrik, R., Lux, M. (eds) Interdisciplinary Handbook of the Person-Centered Approach.
- Bernard, R. (2006), ‘Interviewing: Unstructured and Semistructured ’, in Research Methods in Anthropology.
- 1. Bhattacherjee, A. (2012). Chapter 2: Thinking Like a Researcher in Social Science Research: Principles, Methods, and Practices
- Ahmad, S. et al. (2019). Qualitative v/s. Quantitative Research- A Summarized Review
- Gill, P., Baillie, J. Interviews and focus groups in qualitative research: an update for the digital age.
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