“The Body in Biomedicine” draws on hospital ethnography conducted at a government teaching hospital in Kerala, India, to explore how biomedicine is constructed, learned, taught, and practiced. By examining two key spaces—the classroom and theclinic—within the departments of anatomy and obstetrics, the research aims to trace the body from dissection halls to labor rooms, exploring these settings and the roles of their actors. The research is contextualised in the backdrop of colonial legacies and modern aspirations that continue to influence the practice of medicine today. It also examines thebroader social and cultural meanings embedded in medical practice, highlighting how science intersects with local beliefs, values, and societal structures. The study adopts an anthropological approach, often referred to as "studying up," by examining the power dynamics within the institutions that shape medical knowledge and practice. This perspective allows for a deeper understanding of how biomedicine is not only a product of scientific inquiry but also a cultural institution that shapes and is shaped by the societies in which it operates.

“A Sociological Study of Health and Religion among Muslims in Delhi” aims to examine the extent to which religious beliefs, values, and norms, operating in a particular social and cultural setting, contribute to shaping contemporary attitudes and actions towards health among Muslim residents in a neighbourhood in Delhi. It analyses this in relation to their financial, medical, and other everyday considerations. Recently, there has been increasing emphasis on health-related behaviours and lifestyle choices for managing and preventing various health conditions. In contexts where everyday practices have historically been intertwined with notions of health and well-being, it becomes imperative to study the contemporary experiences of health and illness, especially among socially and spatially marginalised communities. This is because, in India, many of the routines and everyday practices of people have been shaped by not just medical but also diverse religious traditions that comprise beliefs, values, and norms about, for instance, the body, bodily conduct, and practices, inter alia that shape behaviours and world view. By using in-depth interviews and observation, this study seeks to examine their role in thecontemporary experiences of health and illness among Muslims in a context where the impact of modern medicine has been considerable, but other knowledge traditions continue to transform and operate simultaneously.

About the speakers

Wafa A. Razak is a doctoral candidate in sociology at the Centre for the Study of Social Systems, Jawaharlal Nehru University, where she also completed her Master's in Sociology. Her research focuses on the sociology of science and modern medicine, specifically examining the epistemological and pedagogical dimensions of biomedicine in India. 

Sumra Alam is a PhD candidate at the Centre for the Study of Social Systems, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She has completed her Masters in Sociology from JNU, and her Bachelors degree from the University of Delhi. With an interest in studying the interaction of health, culture, and society, her doctoral research explores the relationship between health and religion from a sociological perspective.