Nodding syndrome in Northern Uganda : conceptualization of an illness-in-the-making

This dissertation consists of five articles, an introduction, a concluding chapter and a film documentary. Three articles deal with conceptualizations of nodding syndrome - how it is represented, why and by whom -, the other two address how these concepts are acted upon. Chapters: 1. Introduction: the creation of a black box; 2. Nodding syndrome or disease? On the conceptualization of an illness-in-the-making (Karin van Bemmel, Ilse Derluyn and Koen Stroeken, published in Ethnicity and Health, 2014. 19 (1), pp. 100-118); 3. The rise and fall of nodding syndrome in public discourse: an analysis of newspaper coverage in Uganda (Karin van Bemmel, published in Critique of Anthropology, 2016. 36 (20), pp. 168-196); 4. Universal classifications, national approaches and specific situations: a comparative study on the conceptualization of nodding syndrome in Uganda and Tanzania (Karin van Bemmel and Kim van der Weegen, in press, Anthropology and Medicine, 2017). 5. Phone calls and political ping pong: nodding syndrome and healthcare provision in Uganda (Karin van Bemmel, manuscript submitted for publication); The quest for treatment. The violated body of nodding syndrome in northern Uganda (Karin van Bemmel, published in Journal of Peace and Security Studies, 2016. 2 (2), pp. 63-78). 7. Conclusion: thinking out of the black box. [ASC Leiden abstract]