BA, Oberlin College, 2013, Anthropology

Student activism around global health is occurring with visibility and fervor in the United States collegiate setting. Over the past two years, I have traveled across the US and Vietnam to immerse myself in the life of a nonprofit organization called GlobeMed. A largely student-led organization, GlobeMed partners each chapter with its own unique community health organization. My thesis is an ethnographic study that draws from narratives of young people, analyzes the organizational structure, and provides a broad contextualization of GlobeMed. First, I explore the history and development of GlobeMed. I then present life histories of young people involved in the organization to illustrate social and power dynamics within the network. Finally, I analyze how these components contribute to the way GlobeMed interacts with the simultaneously humanitarian and professional field of global health. This thesis contributes to existing anthropological scholarship by providing ethnographic insight into student activism in the United States around global health.

Committee: Baron Pineda (Advisor); Crystal Biruk (Advisor) Subjects: Behavioral Sciences