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Sienna Craig

6047 Silsby Hall
Hanover, NH 03755
Phone: 603-646-9356
Fax: 603-646-1140
sienna.r.craig at dartmouth.edu

 

I am a medical and cultural anthropologist whose research and teaching focuses on non-western medical systems, social studies of science, international development studies, and global health as well as professionalization, expertise, and modes of knowledge transmission. I also have an abiding interest in studies of ethnicity and identity, including experiences of diaspora and exile. Some of my work has focused on pastoral communities at moments of socio-economic change. I have conducted fieldwork in Nepal, India, and Tibet, as well as among Nepali and Tibetan communities living in the United States. I was born and raised in Santa Barbara, CA, and received my B.A. in Religious Studies from Brown University (1995) and my Ph.D. from Cornell University (2006).

I first traveled to Nepal in 1993, on an undergraduate study abroad program, and have been returning to this part of the world ever since. From 1995-96 I was a Fulbright scholar in Nepal. During this time, I pursued ethnographic fieldwork in ethnically Tibetan communities in northwestern Nepal, on the border with the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), China. This work centered on ethnoveterinary practices and human-animal interactions, with a specific focus on the role of the horse in local culture and economy, as well as in religious symbolism and ritual practice. The research I conducted at this time forms the basis of my forthcoming ethnographic memoir, Horses Like Lightning: A Story of Passage Through the Himalayas (Wisdom Publications, 2008).

In my dissertation, I explore the possibilities of defending and transforming a non-Western medico-social system - Tibetan medicine - in the face of many changes and challenges. In particular, I discuss the standardization, commoditization, and industrial production of Tibetan medicines and the application of biomedically-oriented clinical research methods to the evaluation of these medicines. This work also discusses the implications of these changes on Tibet's landscape and its people, illustrating some of the socio-economic, ethical, and epistemological challenges in transforming this 'traditional medicine' for mass markets and different types of patients. From 2002-2004, I collaborated on a multi-disciplinary research project based in Lhasa, Tibet, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH/NICHD) and the Gates Foundation. This project focused on maternal and child health, and has included the first randomized controlled clinical trial of a Tibetan medicine in the TAR.I am currently developing on a new research project that will be a multi-sited ethnographic investigation of clinical trials that have been conducted on Tibetan medicines in China, India, Europe and the United States. Since 2001, I have been conducting fieldwork and have been engaged in a number of collaborative, 'applied' research endeavors with practitioners of Tibetan medicine in Nepal. My next book project will focus on this research, particularly my work with the Himalayan Amchi Association, a Kathmandu-based NGO. I am also the co-founder of Drokpa (www.drokpa.org), a non-profit organization whose mission is to partner with pastoral communities in the Himalaya and Central Asia to implement grassroots development and catalyze social entrepreneurship. I also serve on the advisory board of OneHEART (www.onehearttibet), an organization dedicated to saving the lives of Tibetan women and children, one birth at a time.

Recent Publications

Books

  • In Press Studies of Medical Pluralism in Tibetan History and Society: Proceedings from the XIth International Association of Tibetan Studies Meetings. S. Craig, M. Cuomo, F. Garrett, and M. Schrempf, eds. Bonn: International Institute for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies, Contributions to Research on Central Asia series.
  • 2008 Horses Like Lightning: A Story of Passage through the Himalayas. Boston, MA: Wisdom Publications.

Peer Reviewed Journal Articles and Book Chapters

  • In Press Pediatric Therapeutics and Medicine Administration in Resource Poor Settings: A Review of Barriers and an Agenda for Interdisciplinary Approaches to Improving Outcomes. S. Craig, L.V. Adams, S. Spielberg, and B. Campbell. Social Science and Medicine.
  • In Press Introduction: Tibetan Medicine at the Crossroads, S. Craig, F. Garrett, M. Schrempf, and M. Cuomo. In S. Craig, M. Cuomo, F. Garrett, and M. Schrempf, eds. Studies of Medical Pluralism in Tibetan History and Society: Proceedings from the 11th International Association of Tibetan Studies Meetings. Bonn: Institute of Tibetan and Central Asian Studies.
  • In Press The Many Faces of a Teacher: Portrait of a Himalayan Healer. In L. Pordié and E. Simon, eds. Les nouveaux guérisseurs comtemporains. Le néo-traditionalisme thérapeutique en biographies. Paris: CNRS Editions.
  • In Press Pregnancy and Childbirth in Tibet: Knowledge, Perspectives, and Practices. In H. Selin, ed. Childbirth Across Cultures, New York: Springer.
  • 2009 Global Pharma in the Land of Snows: Tibetan Medicines and Identity Politics Across Nations, S. Craig and V. Adams. Asian Medicine: Tradition and Modernity, Amsterdam: Brill. 4(1):1-28.
  • 2008 Place and Professionalization: Navigating Amchi Identity in Nepal. In L. Pordié, ed. The World of Tibetan Medicine: Contemporary Trends in the Politics of Medical Knowledge and Practice, London: Routledge, pp. 62-90.
  • 2008 From Butter Tea to Pepsi: A Rapid Appraisal of Food Preferences, Procurement Sources, and Dietary Diversity in a Contemporary Tibetan Township. T. Dickerson, D. Fernandez, Topgyal, A. Samen, Geleg, Nyima, G. Pelto, S. Craig, T. Dye. Ecology of Food and Nutrition, 47(1): 229-253.
  • 2007 Informed Consent in Cross Cultural Perspective: The Case of Clinical Research in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), PRC. V. Adams, S. Miller, S. Craig. P.V. Le, et al. Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry 31:445-472.
  • 2007 How to Make Consent Informed: Possible Lessons from Tibet. S. Miller, P.V. Le, S. Craig, V. Adams, C. Tudor, Sonam, Nyima, Droyoung, M. Cuomo, Lhakpen, and M. Varner. Hastings Review / IRB Ethics and Human Research, November – December issue, pp. 7-14.
  • 2007 Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes of Hospital Vaginal Deliveries in Tibet. S. Miller, C. Tudor, Nyima, V.R. Thorsten, Sonam, Droyoung, S. Craig, P. Le, L.L. Wright, M.W. Varner. International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 98: 217-221.
  • 2007 A Crisis of Confidence: A Comparison Between Tibetan Medical Education in Nepal and Tibet. In M. Schrempf, ed. Soundings in Tibetan Medicine: Anthropological and Historical Perspectives. Proceedings from the 10th International Association of Tibetan Studies Meetings. Amsterdam: Brill, pp. 127-154.

Reviews and Research Reports

  • 2009 Authenticity, Best Practice, and the Evidence Mosaic: The Challenge of Integrating Traditional East Asian Medicines into Western Health Care. Proceedings from the IASTAM-Wellcome Trust conference, compiled by V. Scheid. Complementary Therapies in Medicine.

 

 

Last Updated: 10/14/09