Brittany Franck

About Brittany Franck

I am a PhD candidate in sociocultural anthropology, with a concentration in medical anthropology. My research interests include lived experiences of mental disorders, cultural psychiatry, pharmaceuticals, health care in the U.S., and psychic trauma. I graduated with a B.A. in both English and American Studies at California State University, Fullerton in 2002, and completed my M.A. in International Development and Global Health Affairs as a Sie Fellow at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies in 2015. I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Tigray, Ethiopia and returned to my field site for my M.A. research on education for students with disabilities and as a PhD student, researching with women living with injuries from reproductive trauma. I have worked with BARA on several ethnographic projects in Tucson, including a recent project on undergraduates' responses to uncertainty and risk in the COVID-19 pandemic. My current dissertation fieldwork explores the experiences of adults living with Borderline Personality Disorder in the context of mental health care in the U.S.