The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #73243

James Quesada, PhD, Department of Anthropology, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132, 415-338-1633, jquesada@sfsu.edu

The individual and social suffering resulting from war and violence are well documented, while the conditions that give rise to war and violence, while often predictable frequently appear intractable and beyond the means of human intervention. This is partially due to the way violence has been theorized and compartmentalized into discreet human experiences--from the interpersonal to collective forms of violence--that supposedly contribute to greater understanding and more effective modes of addressing it. However, violence in its variety of forms are interlinked and require a fuller critical analysis if the articulation between these forms are better understood. This session will contribute to understanding the structural and cultural antecedents to hot and cold wars and violence in its myriad of forms, and their impact on health. By focusing on the vital link of human and cultural rights to health rights and status, it is necessary to broaden our concepts and received notions of violence; thus challenging the very methods and aims by which war and violence is taught, let alone understood. Participants will become familiarized with the historical and systemic conditions that produce war and violence by learning to describe and identify such conditions, as they have transpired over time and place and resulted in specific health outcomes. Moreover, familiarity with the antecedents and conditions that produce war and violence, will contribute to acquiring the tools to identify and assess, analyze and discuss processes that typically remain hidden prior to becoming manifest in the health status of individuals and communities.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants in this session will acquire a fuller understanding of the structural and cultural antecedents to war and violence in its myriad of forms, with a focus on their impact on health. Participants will become familiarized with the historical and systemic conditions that produce war and violence resulting in specific health outcomes by acquire the analytical tools to identify, describe, assess, and discuss processes that typically remain hidden prior to becoming manifest in the health status of individuals and communities.

Keywords: Violence, Public Health Curricula

Related Web page: www.progressivehn.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.