A Note from South Africa

A Note from South Africa!

As the Zulu say here in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, Sawubona! I am currently studying abroad with the School for International Training (SIT), studying community health and social policy. The primary aim of the program is to introduce students to Zulu culture and society while learning about health, healing practices and how they are informed by culture and policy. One of the key components of the program is the Independent Study Project, which allows students to choose a topic of interest, research and study in that area, and ultimately write an article length paper which critically analyzes their findings. As I am interested in the intersection of health and human rights, and more specifically the role of health care professionals in the fight for medical equality, I will be researching the role of South African physicians and other health care professionals in the anti-apartheid movement.

I am very excited and enthusiastic to begin my research project! The opportunity to conduct research in a foreign country and to produce knowledge to contribute to academic discourses is not one commonly afforded to undergraduate students. Furthermore, the parallels in development between the United States and South Africa are striking especially with regards to movements for equality. The civil rights movement, and later the anti-apartheid movement had similar goals, but it would be interesting to see exactly how the latter was influenced by the former. I am lucky to have a project advisor who not only studies movements for civil and human rights, but who was also a critical figure in the anti-apartheid movement. As I discovered upon our first meeting, her husband was imprisoned on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela! What is more interesting is that se and Winnie Mandela would often trade places, each wife speaking to the other’s imprisoned husband. Her insight and wisdom, along with her personal connections to other activists will, undoubtedly, be a major aid to my project.

As I start my journey of understanding my topic, I am beginning to understand the art of interdisciplinary research. This program is based upon the principles of anthropology and public health. In that light, all of the information that I have been learning thus far has dealt with research from multiple disciplines. While it is important to be grounded in a particular discipline, one cannot discount the obvious benefits of expanding the scope of knowledge: it allows not only more information to be critically analyzed, but also offers multiple paradigms in which information can be observed and manipulated. The world of interdisciplinary research dissolves the boundaries that traditional academic disciplines can construct.

Here, at this program we are encouraged to conduct research that is interdisciplinary. My research pulls from medical history, as well as the principles of public health and medical anthropology. Juggling these multiple disciplines requires much restraint and responsibility. It is so easy to get lost in the various aspects of each discipline of interest. Therefore, one discipline must remain dominant to all others. In the case of my research here in South Africa, I am focusing more on the principles of medical anthropology, while drawing from all other disciplines related to my research project.

The research journey is not going to be an easy one. Not only do I have to conduct a broad social analysis of my subject area, I must compose a list of physicians and activists to interview for primary data. I must also gather an amalgamation of secondary sources which will be used in triangulating the claims that I will be making in my final paper. This will be particularly hard, because I am in a new social and cultural context all together. Finding approximately 10 to 15 people to interview for at least an hour each is a feat I have never attempted to achieve before, but I am sure that my project advisor will have many suggestions.

My time here in South Africa holds so much potential for growth and learning. ‘The skills that I gain from conducting interdisciplinary research in a foreign country will indubitably are a key component to my growth as an undergraduate researcher. I am excited to see where my research will take me, and what conclusions I will make I am even more excited about the knowledge that I will take back to the United States. I am sure that my research here, in South Africa, will ultimately give me a new perspective in which I can view my current Merle Kling Undergraduate Honors Project. In the future, I hope to combine my findings from both projects to form the basis of a senior honors thesis in anthropology.

That is all about my research for now. As the Zulu say here, Hambani Kahle! Good Bye!

Ezelle Sanford III