Medical Anthropology Film and Discussion Group: Born at Home
GTC Medical Anthropology Film & Discussion Group
Tuesday 29 November 2022 15:30 to 17:00Location: 61 Banbury Road and online
About
The GTC Medical Anthropology Film & Discussion Group explores the extent to which film can complement, enrich and further the study of medical anthropology themes, topics and methods. After watching selected clips, we discuss a film’s content and approach, and interrogate its capacity to support the analysis of issues relating to illness, crisis, health and wellbeing. This term we focus on the theme of ‘birthing’.
Born at Home (2000. Directed by Sameera Jain)
This film observes indigenous birth practices and practitioners in parts of India — rural Rajasthan, Bihar, and an urban working-class area of Delhi. The figure of the dai (midwife) – almost always a low-caste, poor woman – is central to the film. Dais handle about 50% of the births in India yet their inherited, accessible, and low-cost skills are continually devalued by the mainstream. Why does the state not recognise the almost one million traditional practitioners in the country?
