the things we learn in ecology class

[silveraspen]

It's an unusual class. Really it is-- take this week's session, for example.

First, we discussed "windigo psychosis." Yes, that's also spelled "wendigo."

(No, seriously. Evidently there's a decent amount of academic work on this and related subjects. Look up 'culture-bound syndromes' -- it's pretty interesting

Comments

[batyatoon]

... I like your professor and I think I need to name a Watcher after him, or something.

Also: have you read the essay on the Reavers in Finding Serenity, the one called "The Heirs of Sawney Beane"? The one that talks about cannibalism and stories about men gone savage beyond the edge of space civilization?

[silveraspen]

No, I had not -- but now I've looked up Sawney Beane and am twitching. Twitching. Also, I want to rename him Abraham Bender. Er. Elements of the story are clearly there, anyway, although "The Most Dangerous Game" is still the better fit!

I don't actually have a copy of Finding Serenity yet. It's on my list of things to get for myself on that day that I have both cash and time and remember to do so.

(Remind me tonight and I'll give you the name. For obvious reasons, I'm not going to drop it here. *grin*)

[adiva_calandia]

Mmmyep. I read up on that when I was spoiling myself for the first half of s1.

And really? I think that may be why "Wendigo" still freaks me out way more than other eps -- including "Asylum." Because even if it's culture-bound, it's not necessarily locale-bound, which means there could be wendigos in Alaska.

Your professor sounds awesome, in any case. :D

[silveraspen]

Could be. There's a culture-bound syndrome usually found among the Inuit that's called "arctic hysteria," I know that much -- pibloktoq, which I may be misspelling -- but it doesn't involve cannibalism, at least?

*weak smile*

[adiva_calandia]

*snerk*

Actually, when my dad was studying up here at the psychological institute, one of the things his teachers emphasized was that you couldn't use the same yardstick to diagnose mental illness in Alaska Natives that you would in Europeans. If a white guy from the city comes in and says he's been talking to dead people, you might suspect schizophrenia; if a Native guy from the villages comes in and says he's been talking to his ancestors, well, then, he's probably been talking to his ancestors. Culture-bound syndromes in reverse.

[silveraspen]

Your dad had excellent teachers, I think. :) Because yes, it's very true, and is the sort of horrific mistake that researchers and clinicians have been making for a long time -- imposition of externally-contextualized values/belief systems, etc. and so forth.

(The pibloktoq syndrome, as I understand it, is probably badly named as 'hysteria' because it seems to have a biological trigger related to hypervitaminosis/excessive vitamin intake, usually vit. A? I may go look it up again later when I am not writing an outline for a paper that is on a totally different topic. Something like that, anyway.)

[vureoelt]

Interesting indeed. :D A friend of mine is teaching a Pseudoarchaeology course which is even more out there...

[silveraspen]

Now that sounds like an interesting course. Details?

[vureoelt]

Well, basically, my understanding is that it's a senior level course that covers the subject of cult archaeologies (really weird stuff like aliens building the pyramids and so forth). Seniors are supposed to have developed a background in archaeological method and theory so they can then apply it to the reasoning involved in the fringe archaeologies. I know they intended to put a website up once it's all been submitted, graded, etc.