Medical Sociology coursework 5

Choose one of the following, and complete it in a 1 - 2 page paper. Option 1: The FDA and Alternative Care Do some research on the jurisdiction of the FDA by selecting "What FDA Regulates" and "What the FDA Does Not Regulate" found on the FDA's Web site at http://www.fda.gov/opacom/hpview.html Also explore some of the ways that the FDA protects public health on the FDA site. Chapter 4 of the Frontline program mentioned in Option 1 has some additional information about government regulation. Click on the link to view that chapter. Write a 1 -2 page summary of what you learned and incorporate answers to the following questions: What kinds of food and health products does the United States Food and Drug Administration regulate? What products or services are excluded from regulation? What products or services receive major attention from the FDA today? What role do you think the FDA should play in regulating alternative treatments – especially those such as vitamins and other nutritional supplements? Which is the most dangerous for the culture risk from products or governmental regulation? Option 2: The Cult of Maximon - Making Offerings to a Saint Read the following passage written by an educator who was traveling in Central America: San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala - It's not every day you run into a cigar-smoking saint who sports a black hat, pointy moustache, and a suit and tie. Sunday morning, we traveled out of Antigua along winding mountain roads to the village of San Andres Itzapa. Our goal was to find the shrine of San Simon, a Mecca of sorts, where people gather to worship a saint who is more like a devil. "Excuse me, do you know where we can find San Simon?" we asked an old man sweeping the street. "Arriba!" he replied, pointing his broom to a bright blue building on the top of the hill. We trekked on up, passing stalls selling little statues of the saint, cigars, and multi-colored candles. The lady behind the stall gave us advice on what to offer San Simon. "Good luck for travelers? Burn nine blue candles, one for each of you and one for the saint." We bought the candles and picked up a long string of firecrackers, just for fun. The sweet smell of copal incense overwhelmed us as we entered the shrine's courtyard. While a mariachi band played, native priests wearing red scarves burned offerings. They piled up cigars, sugar, eggs, and candles, and then torched them. As the offering burned, throwing off huge plumes of black smoke, worshippers bowed and quietly offered prayers. They believe that in exchange for this ritual, San Simon will perform miracles. "Would you like me to set off your fireworks?" asked one of the priests with great seriousness. I figured this was part of the ritual and he'd light off one or two of them. Instead, he lit off the whole pack. Then he ran away with his fingers in his ears, laughing. At this point we're all asking the same question that you're probably asking right now: What kind of saint is this San Simon?! San Simon, also called Maximon, is a slightly evil character of unknown origin. "Max," in the local Maya dialect means tobacco, which explains why he's always shown smoking a cigar. Some think he's a modern version of the Maya earth lord, otherwise known as Chac. For the ancient Maya, gods associated with the earth were often seen as somewhat sinister beings. If you made the proper offerings to them you'd be safe. If you didn't, they could kill you. The ancient Maya knew that Chac could just as easily bring flood and disaster as he could rain for a good harvest. Inside the shrine things quickly got weirder. A long line of worshippers wound their way up to a life-size statue of San Simon, a stuffed doll seated inside a fancy glass case. With his black hat, suit, and tie he looks like a cross between a demented scarecrow and an undertaker. On either side of a center aisle, people stood behind tables burning candles and smoking cigars amidst multi-colored pools of melting wax. In the center, priests performed bizarre rites on people seeking San Simon's help. They swatted them with flowers and sprayed a mouthful of aguardiente, a local liquor, in their faces. I squeezed past an old Maya woman, staking out a spot in front of San Simon. I reached into my bag, pulled out the nine candles and lit them. As I did this, I wondered to whom I was really praying: the devil or a modern version of an ancient god? As I reflected on this the man next to me torched a single, black candle-black being the color for revenge. For years, San Simon's image was featured in Catholic processions during the week leading up to Easter. His image would be washed, dressed in fresh clothes, and then carried by attendants through the streets of town. Now, the Catholic Church frowns upon these rites and forbids church members from making offerings to this devilish saint. But this Sunday, at least, it's clear that the cult of San Simon is alive and well, despite the warnings of the church. Perhaps the homemade plaques that cover the walls of his shrine tell us why. One reads: "With gratitude to San Simon for ensuring me a safe journey to Los Angeles , CA and for other favors received. Gracias." Do some research and find out more about Maximon. You might start with this website: http://www.mayadiscovery.com/ing/life/default.htm. Also, review the definition of syncretism. How does this term fit with what you have learned? Write a 1 – 2 page summary of what you found, your reaction to the information and connect it to something we have studied here in the chapter on alternative healing. Option 3: Interview and response Interview someone that you know has used some form of alternative care. Ask then questions about the reason they sought this care; their assessment of the quality of the care; how well did it work? Did they incorporate the care with more traditional “western” medicine? Would they return to the caregiver again? And so forth. Do some independent research on the care they used and then describe your reaction – both to the interview and to the information you found. Write a 1 – 2 page summary of what you found, your reaction to the information and connect it to something we have studied here in the chapter on alternative healing.