Technology and the Changing Role of Therapy Managers in Africa
Location
CSU 255
Start Date
27-4-2009 8:00 AM
End Date
27-4-2009 10:00 AM
Student's Major
History
Student's College
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Mentor's Name
Agnes Odinga
Mentor's Department
History
Mentor's College
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Description
Africans relied exclusively on traditional healing until many embraced western medicine in the nineteenth century. The resulting medical pluralist practices transformed the role of what John M. Janzen, an ethnographer, termed "therapy managers." Therapy managers are a unique part of African medical culture. They form a group that manages the illness and therapy of the sufferer. This duty was typically performed by relatives, or friends and associates, who lived in the vicinity. While scholars have explored the therapy manager's role, they have failed to account for the impact of technology on the composition and role of these individuals. My preliminary oral and secondary research indicate that examining the role of technology in health and healing expands upon Janzen's commonly accepted explanation of therapy managers. An analysis of interviews with Africans in Minnesota will provide an understanding of the complex role and place of Diaspora therapy managers. Therefore, my research will build upon Janzen's conceptual and theoretical framework by examining the role of African therapy managers in the Diaspora. An in-depth study of the use of communication devices such as cell phones and email, and internet reveals that therapy managers are younger, closer kin and global. This is a departure from Janzen's view that they are older, extended relatives, and localized. This research will contribute to the ongoing discussion on globalization, technology, health and healing in Africa.
Technology and the Changing Role of Therapy Managers in Africa
CSU 255
Africans relied exclusively on traditional healing until many embraced western medicine in the nineteenth century. The resulting medical pluralist practices transformed the role of what John M. Janzen, an ethnographer, termed "therapy managers." Therapy managers are a unique part of African medical culture. They form a group that manages the illness and therapy of the sufferer. This duty was typically performed by relatives, or friends and associates, who lived in the vicinity. While scholars have explored the therapy manager's role, they have failed to account for the impact of technology on the composition and role of these individuals. My preliminary oral and secondary research indicate that examining the role of technology in health and healing expands upon Janzen's commonly accepted explanation of therapy managers. An analysis of interviews with Africans in Minnesota will provide an understanding of the complex role and place of Diaspora therapy managers. Therefore, my research will build upon Janzen's conceptual and theoretical framework by examining the role of African therapy managers in the Diaspora. An in-depth study of the use of communication devices such as cell phones and email, and internet reveals that therapy managers are younger, closer kin and global. This is a departure from Janzen's view that they are older, extended relatives, and localized. This research will contribute to the ongoing discussion on globalization, technology, health and healing in Africa.
Recommended Citation
Wright, Christopher. "Technology and the Changing Role of Therapy Managers in Africa." Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mankato, MN, April 27, 2009.
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/urs/2009/oral-session-03/7
