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| Interdisciplinary Fellowship Program |
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Past
Fellows of CHCS Program |
Three fellows completed the 1999 -2000 year as CSHCS fellows. Bruce Brown (International Health), Daniel Hruschka (Anthropology) and Jenny Higgins (Educational Stuies) met bi-weekly in the Fall 1999 semester with faculty advisors of the fellowship program. In the Srping 2000 semester, the fellows participated in the seminar entitled "The Ethics of HIV Prevention, Control, and Treatment." |
 Jenny
Higgins “When we had our final CSHCS meeting of the semester several weeks ago, one of next year’s incoming fellows asked me to describe my year at the public health school. While I had many thoughts to share with her, my immediate comment was, “I did a great deal of listening this year.” I explained how in my previous Ph.D. coursework in women’s studies, for better or worse, I had become accustomed to outwardly analyzing and debating as opposed to sitting back and more passively receiving and internalizing information. Within women’s studies, as in most fields at the graduate school of arts and sciences, small, intense seminars are the primary classroom environment. In these courses, both in and out of class, a small group of students spends hours rigorously discussing the ideas in the texts. The faculty member’s role in all this is to guide the discussion and elucidate it at appropriate points; she or he is hardly there to provide us with the “right” answers. In fact, it usually feels as if there are no “answers”; like so many other students, I have often left these seminars feeling distraught over how we have outlined the problems much more clearly than the solutions. In contrast, most of my classes at the public health school this year were larger, lecture-type classes that focused much more on gaining skills than expounding theory. Expert epidemiologists, biostatisticians, physicians, and others stood before us and did their best to impart the information we would supposedly need to successfully practice public health in the field. Our mastery of the material was assessed through by-rote exams or problem sets rather than theoretical papers. At first, I was certain I would struggle with this more passive form of learning. However, while the process had its share of growing pains, I have been surprised by how much I have enjoyed my courses at the public health school. I have acquired a tremendous amount of information by listening not only to my instructors, many of whom have remarkable expertise, but also to my classmates. This spring, for example, I was fortunate enough to serve on a group project with classmate Sam Orach, a distinguished medical director and physician from sub-Saharan Africa. I gained more from hearing about his experiences in Uganda than I have learned in entire seminar courses in women’s studies. I recognize now that there is something wonderful about being a vessel as well as a more active participant in the learning process. This year I have really enjoyed taking in the in-the-field expertise and knowledge of my professors and colleagues. I initially came to the public health school to learn more about issues such as demography, family planning programs, and international health and development, and to combine these with what I have already learned about gender in my women’s studies classes. While my knowledge about these things has considerably widened, I think what I have gained from even more is my experience of the differences between the two fields, two ways of learning and knowing the world. My challenge now is to successfully merge the two fields, as I believe they have a great deal to offer one another. On one hand, public health has led me to feel a bit more impatient with social science; I now believe that social science has a responsibility not only to outline society’s ills, but also to produce potential programs and solutions. On the other hand, I feel as if public health practitioners should not be so consumed with producing measurable results in the field (for example, fewer Vitamin A deficiencies) that they fail to address larger structural issues such as poverty, gender inequality, or Western post-colonialism. I also believe public health schools could benefit from incorporating more of a process-oriented approach into some of their classes. Too often public health students look to their instructors to supply them with the answers and fail to recognize their own capabilities as learners and knowers. I’m convinced that the strengths of public health and social science can be combined to create thoughtful, compelling research and social change. I want to express sincere gratitude to the Center for
awarding me this fellowship and allowing me the opportunity to take
a year’s worth of public health classes. I have grown tremendously
as a scholar and person, and I look forward to applying the lessons
I have learned in my future work.”
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 Dan
Hruschka “This past year as a fellow at the Center for the Study of Health Culture and Society has been an extremely enriching experience. I came to CSHCS as a doctoral student in anthropology interested in how changing social and political conditions affect the epidemiology of sexually transmitted diseases by changing patterns of sexual behavior. With a CSHCS-sponsored year of study at the Rollins School of Public Health, I had planned both to learn epidemiological methods and to find out how my research might be applied in public health settings. The CSHCS has allowed me to accomplish both of these goals. As a student in the department of epidemiology, I have gained valuable training in biostatistics and the methods of epidemiology. At lectures and in conversations, students and professors at the Rollins School have pointed out ways in which my research would be useful to applied public health work. Thanks to this year at the Center for the Study of Health
Culture and Society, I now have a clearer picture of how I, as
an anthropologist interested in STD control, might find a place in public
health projects. In closing, I would like to thank the faculty,
staff and students at the Rollins School of Public Health, members of
the CSHCS, and my fellow CSHCS fellows for making this year such a rewarding
experience.”
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 Bruce
Brown “The public’s health requires a combination of disciplines to ensure a productive and healthy society. After working in the field of Public Health in Southern Sudan, it became quite obvious that the presence of health clinics and medical personnel were of limited consequence to the political and economic disasters that engulfed the nation in civil war. Despite numerous improvements in health indicators in areas with public health activities, the political and economic environment limited the possibility for sustainable development. As a fellow in The Center for the Study of Health, Culture, and Society (CSHCS), I sought to enhance my understanding of the political and economic constraints faced by Less Developed Countries, especially those in Africa. Study in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences allowed me to explore the theoretical foundations of development and to examine alternative strategies for development. My objectives for this year of study included understanding the relationship between development oriented international institutions, such as the World Bank and IMF, and their influence on the development ideology. My studies have enabled me to analyze the development community with a new understanding of the internal dynamics that constrain and enhance the cooperation between nations, development NGOs, and multilateral development institutions. The time spent as a CSHCS fellow has greatly enhanced
my understanding of political, anthropological, cultural, and institutional
dimensions of development. Cross-disciplinary training has provided
the exposure necessary to formulate a broader understanding of the many
issues that affect public health. The CSHCS coursework and conferences
provided access to unique perspectives and created a most stimulating
educational experience.”
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