Research Paper on:
Medicine and Morality in Haiti The Contest for Healing Power by Paul Brodwin

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complex subject that also encompasses the sciences of anatomy, genetics, psychology and sociology. As the mystery of humankind continues to unfold, anthropologists have discovered that behavior evolves not simply  as a physical response to changing times, but is strongly influenced by social and cultural conditioning. The anthropology of humankind concentrates on determining the components that establish the collective  identity which defines a group of people who share a specific culture and geographical location. According to noted medical anthropologist Paul Brodwin (2002), who is also an Associate Professor  of Anthropology at Milwaukees University of Wisconsin, current anthropological study is more about identity deconstruction than construction, and articulates "the notion that individuals craft their identity through social performances" (p.  323). Furthermore, according to Brodwin (2002), "Collective identity emerges out of... struggle and compromise underlies contemporary studies of race, ethnicity and nationalism" (p. 323). Brodwins powerful 1996 text,  Medicine and Morality in Haiti: The Contest for Healing Power, considers how all the pieces of the anthropological puzzle have been put together, which dictates the collective moral conscience of  the people of rural Haiti, and how culture and spirituality combine to dictate the healing of their bodies, minds and spirits. Medicine and Morality in Haiti is the culmination of  Brodwins year-and-a-half anthropological research into the southern portion of the region and an attempt to gain some deeper perspective into their medical/healing practices, the decisions of which fall along not  only socioeconomic lines, but also reflect the theological diversity (and frequent conflict) among the Haitian peasantry. Brodwins introduction begins with this curious observation during a bus ride full of  Kafou villagers that, the reader comes to realize, as the text progresses, displays a profound insight into a people that couldnt be more foreign to the Western mentality: "A woman