Guest editor Margaret Winchester, Penn State University
This special issue of Medicine Anthropology Theory will consider place in relation to anthropological and ethnographic research on health. The collected papers and commentary will examine the strengths and limitations of using the notion of ‘therapeutic landscapes’ within medical anthropology, thereby developing a theoretical foundation and possible applications. Some questions to consider include: How do geographic and anthropological notions of place and landscape differ in the study of health? How can research on ‘the local’ translate into broader systems across space and scale? How do symbolic and utilitarian considerations of place help to illuminate landscapes of inequality and exclusion in health? How can the concept of landscape be applied to the dynamic systems and fluid settings of health seeking?
The concept of therapeutic landscapes was introduced in the early 1990s in an attempt to integrate ideas about place and human health within studies of health geography. Since then, the concept has been expanded and applied beyond human-environment interactions to include the analysis of structural and symbolic constructions of place. Initially adopting the term to examine patterns of health-care seeking, medical anthropologists have since applied it in the study of holistic health care, treatment seeking, risk negotiation, clinical spaces and design, social networks of therapy, regional political economies of health, landscapes of resistance and exclusion, and other health processes.
The intersection of place and health presents a unique opportunity for anthropologists to engage with geographic concepts and to contribute to our understanding of the social dimensions of landscapes. The use of ‘landscape’ as a framework for analysis encourages the consideration of scale and the use of mixed methodologies, from examining policies and structures to local environmental features and individual experience.
We invite original research papers, think pieces, book and film reviews, and photo essays that employ conceptualizations of health, landscapes, and place. Contributions from other disciplines engaging with these subjects are welcome. The editors invite proposals (300–350 words) for contributions by 1 August 2015. Proposals will be peer reviewed and then a selection will be made for inclusion in the special issue. Successful contributors will be notified by 17 August and completed papers and essays will be due on 14 September 2015. Please email proposals or questions.
For more information on the journal, its scope, and guidelines for submission, click here.