When
February 18, 19219:00 amVia Zoom
Title: Diabetic Living: Senegalese Women’s Experiences with Metabolic Illness
Abstract: This dissertation draws on the lived experiences of Senegalese women with metabolic illness to illuminate the global rise of noncommunicable diseases. Existing literature on noncommunicable diseases in low-and-middle-income countries (LMIC) is scarce while at the same time these countries are poised to experience the highest disease burden. Medical anthropological research on diabetes and hypertension in LMICs has thus far focused on Guatemala, India, Kenya, and Ethiopia. This dissertation adds to the conversation by introducing a critical West African perspective that examines the everyday lived experience of noncommunicable diseases at the individual, household and community levels. Focusing on women’s experiences of hypertension, diabetes, and kidney disease/failure in Senegal, this project illustrates the nuanced ways noncommunicable diseases are shifting individual notions of self, kin structures, and social communities.
Committee: Dr. Ivy L. Pike (chair), Dr. Mark Nichter, Dr. Janelle Lamoreaux, Dr. Susan J. Shaw (UMass Amherst)