Medical Anthropology: Reading Response Paper- Dancing Skeletons

Assignment and Format

Answer the following one of the following essay prompts in 3 pages (Times New Roman, -12pt font, double-spaced with a cover page). Make sure that you are addressing all the questions within one prompt. Please cut and paste the essay rubric to the end of your essay. You can find the rubric under Assignments. Just click on the + to the left of the table and copy it. All papers must be turned in hard copy, with no title page, and stapled. Please only use course resources to write this essay; all internet sources are prohibited.

Papers should include an introduction paragraph, body paragraphs that present evidence (examples from the text to support and analysis (your explanation of them in relation to the essay prompt), and a conclusion. You should have a clearly stated thesis sentence at the end of your introduction paragraph that explains the arguments you will make. While you can make some use of the first person (I, my, etc), please limit this or avoid unless absolutely necessary. For example, you do not need to write “I think” or “in my opinion” because, as the paper author, I already know you think that. I already read the book about 10 times, so Do Not provide any summary.

The book is Dancing Skeletons Life and Death in West Africa by Katherine Dettwyler. ( you can find big parts of online like in here: https://books.google.com/books/about/Dancing_Skele…

Essay Prompts:

1. Identify and explain three cultural factors that must be taken into account when trying to combat malnutrition in Mali.

2. At one point during her research, Dettwyler’s undergraduate research assistant is shocked by a woman who has twelve living children. Why are large families both culturally and economically important in Mali? How does this relate to Western assumptions about how to solve global malnutrition?