Culture, Brain, and Medicine

Educational Goals
As the standard of living has increased significantly, health and social disparities have widened between cultures. Stress-related ailments become the new plague. (I'm particularly interested in anxiety and depression.) I see that health and social issues are interlocking, so I turned to BDIC, which allows cross-pollination of disciplines.  

I am drawing classes from Psychology, Biochemistry, Sociology, and Anthropology Departments in order to have a holistic understanding of mental health in social contexts, and to understand them in contemporary cultures. This tailored curriculum is to prepare me for further psychological anthropology research as well as mental-health related social entrepreneurship.

Continuing Aims

Among post-graduate programs, I find psychological anthropology very appealing. If I do not pursue graduate study following graduation, I will work for a NGO with cross-cultural health issues on its agenda.

Experiential Background

I have been wondering about music’s impact on the brain since I started playing the piano at the age of eleven. Since then, my subjective experiences of the world are significantly enriched. In high school, I picked up Daniel J. Levitin’s This is Your Brain on Music, a delightful book that depicts the intriguing relationships between music, the brain, and human development. It was Levitin who sparked my interests in these areas and encouraged me to integrate different perspectives.

During my first year at UMass, I took courses in music, brain and human development. One of them is a seminar  called “What are Emotions,” through which I gained insights in human mind. Philosophical debates fed me well, but I wish I knew neuroscience better so that I can get a holistic picture of what is going on. I was under a psychology major but find the course offerings inadequate for further psycho-cultural studies. Thus, I started exploring and encountered “Culture, Brain, and Development (CBD) Program” @ University of California-Los Angeles as well as Hampshire College. Then, I created this bio-anthropology flavored BDIC study.

Last but not least......

I am spending three years with BDIC, during which I will be a Research Assistant in an Anthropology lab. Revisions to my BDIC curriculum may happen, as the best part is tailoring the concentration to adapt any change that comes along! 

Now, I can better answer these questions posed by others and myself: where I am from, who I am... Thanks to BDIC, I can engage myself in things I truly care and want to explore. 

Cheers for the day.

Comments

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