Ethnic Psychosis Essay

World Perspectives on Health
Spring 2017
Crazy Like Us
DUE THURSDAY MARCH 2nd


Mental illness is culturally constructed. Anthropologists recognize the unique occurrence of mental illness as an "ethnic psychosis". Choose an "ethnic psychosis" from the book CRAZY LIKE US and discuss the following:

1. How is the illness a product of American Culture? In doing this you will identify the way that the illness is culturally constructed, and how American norms, values and beliefs are the basis for this construction.
2. How have the changes in values in other cultures resulted from the spreading our mental illnesses? Be specific in describing this process in your example.
3. What role does biomedicine (and its allied institutions-drug companies, professional organizations, etc.) have in this process?