Medical anthropology and spiritual activism in education

Abstract

Editor’s note: this article is based on the author’s workshop for the Section Annual Conference Transpersonal Activism on 11–12 September 2021.The aim of the workshop was to raise awareness with the conference participants, of strategies to develop spiritual activism with medical and health care staff, to benefit people who used the services. The author had practised transpersonal spiritual activism in medical schools and hospitals since 2007, and taught university courses on anthropology and spirituality before then. This workshop offered an overview of her courses and summarised current practices of spiritual activism in medical schools.Workshop Aims. The aims of the workshop were to raise awareness of spiritual activism in medical schools, and address issues around social inclusion. Within the discipline of medical anthropology, this workshop offered a Tool-Kit and practical Resource Training Pack for discussion, so conference participants who were prospective practitioners and activists might consider using it. The aim was to enhance participants’ own skills and knowledge base, to support their actions towards applied transpersonal activism, based on their own knowledge. The workshop participants brainstormed ways they might use the material available, to present a strategy to their colleagues on potential ways forward to address social inclusion.