Doctoral Dissertation: The Ontogeny of Medical Knowledge and Belief

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This project will study the acquisition and development of ethnomedical knowledge in a small-scale peasant community in the Peruvian Andes. It focuses on how individuals acquire their medical culture throughout their maturation and development (from childhood to adulthood), and on the factors that shape that acquisition process. Both childhood medical knowledge/ understanding and how this changes as the child matures will be documented. The researcher argues that this case study of medical knowledge will provide a window onto the ontogeny of knowledge systems, specifically how childhood conceptual formation and cultural learning are transformed into adult ethnotheories. It builds on theories in anthropology, cognitive psychology and child development. Methods include a community census and health profile, health and illness interviews, and free-listing exercises, as well as surveys of medical behavior in the community.