Kennedy (2009b): Interview with Allan Young

In an interview, Allan Young states that the PTSD, or post traumatic stress disorder, was
first diagnosed in Vietnam War veterans in 1980. He talks about the “invention” of PTSD, but
stresses that this does not mean that the disorder is not real, but that it is not a natural object.
Young describes PTSD as a social and scientific construction. Young conducted fieldwork in a
veterans’ administration hospital for three years. He describes PTSD as memories created with
the occurrence of traumatic events. He highlights the four criteria to being diagnosed with PTSD
and being provided compensation: memory recurs in extremely painful and stressful ways, the
individual attempts to avoid triggering situations, the individual attempts to numb against
emotional effects of these memories, and there is an unconscious anticipation of a recurrence of
this memory. Young also stresses the problems with this compensation, stating that many may
avoid improval in order to receive pension, which is why they gave all veterans with PTSD a
lump sum of money and told them not to return.

Wolf (2010 [1982]): Foreword (Eriksen), Preface (1997), Preface (1982), Introduction:
Afterword
In the foreword, Eric Wolf’s view of culture is described as constantly changing and
unbounded, as he directly critiques Franz Boas’ view of culture.Wolf’s reasoning was that
communities are connected through power relations, politics, and trade. In his 1997 Preface,
Wolf draws on history and political economy to highlight his idea that human societies and
cultures could not be efficiently studied and understood until we learn to view them within their
relationships and dependencies. In his 1982 preface, Wolf suggested that anthropologists need to
work towards making analytic sense of all societies, including one’s own. In the introduction,
Wolf states that humankind is made up of many interconnected processes. He also highlights the
misleading idea that many of us have been taught, that the west is a society that is entirely
independent and in opposition to other societies around the world. Finally, Wolf states that to
understand the connections between humans, one must view the economic and political
conditions under which those connections were created and maintained.

Bourgois (2002): “Understanding Inner-City Poverty: Resistance and Self-Destruction under

U.S. Apartheid”
Phillipe Bourgois talks about his experience studying inner city poverty in the primarily
Puerto Rican neighborhood of East Harlem in New York. He studied much of the drug and street
culture as he was there during what was called the crack epidemic (1985-1991). He criticized
past studies for being more biased toward these types of societies that efficiently analyzing and
documenting their racial and class division. Bourgois also highlighted that though drug dealers
were a small percentage of the population of East Harlem, their presence caused residents to live
in fear, setting the tone for the neighborhood. Finally, Bourgois states that the United States has
failed its inner cities and should absolutely not be looked at as a model for political and
economic development by other developing countries.

Watters (2010): “The Americanization of Mental Illness”

In “The Americanization of Mental Illness,” Ethan Watters suggests that the way the
world views mental illness is being highly influenced by the Western view. Though this may
seem beneficial because of the advanced technology available to monitor and treat these mental
illnesses, this spread of influence is increasing stigma of the illnesses. Watters states that mental
illness is highly influenced by culture and time, but it is being increasingly homogenized as the
Western view spreads. In addition, those who help or treat the mentally ill, such as doctors or
priest, end up being the ones who decide which symptoms are legitimate and determine a person
to be mentally ill.