Fadiman’s The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down addresses experiences and decisions we may all relate to in some degree through the narrative of a journalist. It offers a different perspective and insightfulness that has been used as an acceptable resource on teaching cultural competence. As a passive reader, our understanding of cultural competence has grown more humanistic, because we feel the healthcare provider’s frustration and their concerns becoming more salient, while we see how a breakdown in communication, can have heartbreaking results as felt by the Lees. I think the book’s by-product is a lesson in cultural competence that can educate health care, but it is also a story that is much more dynamic as it reflects upon the sociopolitical
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Through an anthropologist’s lens I could see the story being written exclusively about the Hmong Chinese and the history of their difficulty assimilating into American society. The story would demonstrate not only facts, but, arguments and counter-arguments about their difficulty assimilating into American society. The story would focus on analyzing the interactions between western and eastern cultures, giving analytical descriptions of the events that occurred, and the reasons behind the behaviors and choices the characters made. In doing so, I don’t think that we would have been as emotionally invested in this story. It would have detracted from the reading experience; it could have lost Fadiman’s personal anecdotes and interactions with the Lee family, and it would probably have lost some of the other characters that were involved in the story that made the story multi-faceted. Therefore, if it were strictly a scientific essay, it would have a focus on evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the culture, explaining theories or arguments, resulting in losing the special qualities that captured our attention. I would be concerned that parts of the story would be lost, such as the emotional …show more content…
These portraits remind us about the importance of focusing not just on patients’ clinical details, but on the people experiencing those symptoms. Fadiman’s writing crosses into sociopolitical aspects that gives the story much more depth and left me with much more awareness. I personally enjoyed The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, because it connects what I learned in my health studies concentration, and pulled many lessons which I can draw from across sociology, psychology, political science and public health classes. The struggle to assimilate arriving immigrants or refugees into American life is something that will never vanish, as it is one of the fundamental by-products of multiculturalism. The psychological issues that displaced people face are extensive, and they carry those with them to their new destination. These issues manifest into health problems, many of which become public health concerns. These refugees or immigrants come to the United States to be free of the violence and discrimination they faced before, and at the same time, yearn and desire to keep their culture intact. Ironically, this can lead to friction in society perpetuating the same problems they faced in their country of origin. Xenophobia has existed for every wave of new immigrants or refugees and the power differential in the United State 's
Through an anthropologist’s lens I could see the story being written exclusively about the Hmong Chinese and the history of their difficulty assimilating into American society. The story would demonstrate not only facts, but, arguments and counter-arguments about their difficulty assimilating into American society. The story would focus on analyzing the interactions between western and eastern cultures, giving analytical descriptions of the events that occurred, and the reasons behind the behaviors and choices the characters made. In doing so, I don’t think that we would have been as emotionally invested in this story. It would have detracted from the reading experience; it could have lost Fadiman’s personal anecdotes and interactions with the Lee family, and it would probably have lost some of the other characters that were involved in the story that made the story multi-faceted. Therefore, if it were strictly a scientific essay, it would have a focus on evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the culture, explaining theories or arguments, resulting in losing the special qualities that captured our attention. I would be concerned that parts of the story would be lost, such as the emotional …show more content…
These portraits remind us about the importance of focusing not just on patients’ clinical details, but on the people experiencing those symptoms. Fadiman’s writing crosses into sociopolitical aspects that gives the story much more depth and left me with much more awareness. I personally enjoyed The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, because it connects what I learned in my health studies concentration, and pulled many lessons which I can draw from across sociology, psychology, political science and public health classes. The struggle to assimilate arriving immigrants or refugees into American life is something that will never vanish, as it is one of the fundamental by-products of multiculturalism. The psychological issues that displaced people face are extensive, and they carry those with them to their new destination. These issues manifest into health problems, many of which become public health concerns. These refugees or immigrants come to the United States to be free of the violence and discrimination they faced before, and at the same time, yearn and desire to keep their culture intact. Ironically, this can lead to friction in society perpetuating the same problems they faced in their country of origin. Xenophobia has existed for every wave of new immigrants or refugees and the power differential in the United State 's