Lecture Series- Medical Anthropology: A Holistic and Global Look at Human Health

Medical Anthropology takes a holistic and global look at human health. Drawing on theories, methods, and evidence from anthropology and other fields, medical anthropology explores how societies around the world deal with the universal experience of sickness. Often working with physicians, epidemiologists, psychologists, alternative/folk healers, and more, medical anthropologists start with the individual body but venture beyond to learn how social, cultural, political, economic, historical, and ecological factors affect everyday experiences of health in societies around the world.

Dr. Max J. Stein is an Assistant Professor of Medical Anthropology in the Justice Studies Department at Florida Gulf Coast University, where he teaches courses in anthropology and research design. Dr. Stein’s research focuses on broad topics such as human mobility and migration, global mental health, and traditional and alternative medicine. He has worked for nearly 15 years in field sites across the country and lived in the Andes mountains of Peru for two years researching patterns of human mobility.

Raised in Fort Myers, Dr. Stein earned his BA in Anthropology at FGCU in 2009. He left home a year later for Tuscaloosa, AL to complete his MA (2012) and PhD (2018) in Medical Anthropology at The University of Alabama, only to return to SWFL in 2019 to teach the next generation of FGCU students. He also owns AnthroMacs Consulting, LLC, and offers research and consultation services including data collection and analysis, surveying and focus groups, trend identification, and data visualization.