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Reviewer needed: ‘Embodying Ecological Heritage in a Maya Community: Health, Happiness, and Identity’ by Kristina Baines

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Research Summary: Embodying Ecological Heritage in a Maya Community

Category: Ethnographic Study / Medical Humanities / Indigenous Health
Key Focus Areas: Traditional ecological practices, community health and wellness, indigenous land management rights, heritage-connected health outcomes
Author & Publisher: Kristina Baines; Lexington Books, 2016
Geographic/Population Focus: Rural farming village in southern Belize; Maya community across all ages
Evidence Grade: Qualitative ethnographic narrative with wide applicability to indigenous communities globally seeking land rights and health equity.
Primary Framework: Examines interconnections between ecological heritage practices, individual and collective identity, and health outcomes within complex histories and changing environments.
Scope & Relevance: Applicable to indigenous communities worldwide negotiating land management rights and to understanding health as culturally-embedded heritage practice rather than isolated biomedical domain.

We are pleased to offer for review ‘Embodying Ecological Heritage in a Maya Community: Health, Happiness, and Identity‘ by Kristina Baines (Lexington Books, 2016). Expressions of interest are welcome from across the medical humanities.

Embodying Ecological Heritage in a Maya Community: Health, Happiness, and Identity provides an ethnographic account of life in a rural farming village in southern Belize, focusing on the connections between traditional ecological practices and the health and wellness of the Maya community living there.

It discusses how complex histories, ecologies, and development practices are negotiated by individuals of all ages, and the community at large, detailing how they interact with their changing environments. The study has wide applicability for indigenous communities fighting for rights to manage their lands across the globe, as well as for considering how health is connected to heritage practices in communities worldwide.

If you would like to review ‘Embodying Ecological Health in a Maya Community’ (no more than 1,000 words in length), then please consult our reviewer’s guidelines and email our reviews editor with a short explanation of why you are well placed to review the book.