MAAH is a network of medical anthropologists who do research in their own culture and society. The network's aim is to bring together medical anthropologists in order to discuss theoretical, methodological and practical issues in relation to health and culture.
The network has an international scientific Advisory Committee, consisting of:
- Sylvie Fainzang (Cermes3/Inserm, Paris, France): Scientific coordinator of the network
- Bernhard Hadolt (University of Vienna, Austria)
- Josep Comelles (University Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain)
- Mette Bech Risor (University of Tromso, Norway)
- Ivo Quaranta (University of Bologna, Italy)
The network has been established in 1998 during the first Conference of Medical Anthropology at Home (Zeist, The Netherlands), on the initiative of late Els van Dongen and Sjaak van der Geest, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Some contributions of this conference are published in Anthropology & Medicine 5/3, special issue ("Creating Distance"), Vol. 5/3, edited by Els van Dongen and Sylvie Fainzang.
The network meets approximately every two years to present and discuss recent work.
The 2nd conference was in Tarragona, Spain in 2001. The themes were "The contribution of medical anthropology to anthropology" and "Liturgies and rituals in medicine". The 3rd conference was held in Perugia (Italy) in 2003, on the theme: "Medical Anthropology, Welfare State and Political Engagement". The 4th conference took place in Seili (Finland) in 2006, on the theme: "Coming Home: From biomedicine to everyday health issues". The 5th conference in Sandbjerg (Denmark) in 2008, was on the theme: "Medical anthropology, health care systems and the client society. Investigating interactions of practice, power and science". The 6th conference took place in Royaumont Abbaye (France) in 2010, on the theme: "Transformations of the body and social uses of symptoms between local and global". The 7th in Driebergen (Netherlands) in 2012, was on "New Socialities and Subjectivities in Health Care in the 21st Century". The 8th Conference took place in 2014 in Bologna-Bertinoro (Italy), on the theme: "Assemblages, transformations and the politics of care".
The conferences are followed by the publication of edited peer-reviewed books:
- Health, State and Politics ("Medical Anthropology, Welfare State and Political Engagement" 1), Fainzang S., Schirripa P., Comelles J.M., Van Dongen E. (eds), Roma, Argo, 2009.
- Medical anthropology and Anthropology, Fainzang S., Schirripa P., Comelles J.M., Van Dongen E. (eds), Roma, Argo, 2009.
- Care and Management of Illness and Distress ("Medical Anthropology, Welfare State and Political Engagement " 2), Schirripa P., Fainzang S., Van Dongen E., Comelles J.M. (eds), Roma, Argo, 2009.
- The Taste for Knowledge: Medical Anthropology Facing Medical Realities, Fainzang S., Hem H.E, BechRisor M. (eds), Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 2010.
- Of Bodies and Symptoms. Anthropological Perspectives on their Social and Medical Treatment. Fainzang S., Haxaire C. (eds), Tarragona: Publications URV, 2011; in free access on: http://www.publicacionsurv.cat/llibres-digitals/antropologia-medica/item/214-of-bodies-and-symptoms.
MAAH has a mailing list. You can subscribe to this list by contacting Sylvie Fainzang [sylvie.fainzang(ELIMINAR)@orange.fr]
