Piet van Eeuwijk is a social anthropologist (PhD, University of Basel) and historian (M.A., University of Basel) and holds a postgraduate degree in developing countries/development policy (NADEL, ETH Zurich). His current scientific specialization is in the field of medical anthropology and anthropology of ageing, and of political ecology/sustainable development as well as of political and development anthropology. He is engaged in teaching and research on medical anthropology and/or Southeast-Asia/East Africa at the Institute of Social Anthropology, University of Basel, Switzerland (Scientific Collaborator, Senior Lecturer); the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH; Project Leader), University of Basel, Switzerland; the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Zurich, Switzerland (Senior Lecturer); the Institute of Social Anthropology, University of Bern, Switzerland (Scientific Collaborator); and the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg i.Br., Germany (Senior Lecturer). He was/is head/scientific coordinator of research projects in Indonesia and in Tanzania on ageing, health and care; corresponding follow-up research activities continue to this day. He does also research in the Mekong Region on food-transmitted helminth worms in the context of preventive and therapeutic programmes. Moreover, he is engaged in development cooperation of private organizations as consultant (and former project officer) in particular in the health and education sector. Piet van Eeuwijk is co-founder and member of ‘Medical Anthropology Switzerland‘ (MAS), a commission of the ‘Swiss Ethnological Society’ (SEG), and also board member (vice chair) of the ‚Medical Anthropology Network‘ of the ‚European Association of Social Anthropologists‘ (EASA).
Research Interests
Ageing, health and care; old-age vulnerability and agency; non-communicable/chronic diseases (NCD) and ageing; urban health; neglected tropical diseases (NTD) and health programmes; sustainability, equity and health
Research Areas
Insular Southeast Asia (Indonesia); Mainland Southeast Asia (Laos, Cambodia, Mekong Region); East Africa (Tanzania)
Publications
Monographs and Edited Volumes
Peter van Eeuwijk (1999): ‚Diese Krankheit passt nicht zum Doktor’. Medizinethnologische Untersuchungen bei den Minahasa (Nord-Sulawesi, Indonesien). Basel: Wepf. (Basler Beiträge zur Ethnologie, Bd. 41).
Peter van Eeuwijk und Brigit Obrist (Hg.)(2006): Vulnerabilität, Migration und Altern. Medizinethnologische Ansätze im Spannungsfeld von Theorie und Praxis. Zürich: Seismo-Verlag.
Gabriele Weichart and Peter van Eeuwijk (Guest Editors) (2007): Food Chains: Eating, Drinking, Feeding – Framing Social Relations/Les Chaines Alimentaires: du Boire et du Manger ou Comment se Nourrissent les Relations Sociales. Special Issue of Anthropology of Food S3 (December 2007).
Journal Articles
2015. (with Khampheng Phongluxa, Phonepasong Soukhathammavong, Kongsap Akkhavong and Peter Odermatt). “Perceived Illness Drives Participation in Mass Deworming Campaigns in Laos”. Acta Tropica 141: 281-288.
2014. “The Elderly Providing Care for the Elderly in Tanzania and Indonesia: Making ‘Elder to Elder’ Care Visible”. In: Sociologus 64 (1): 29-52.
2012. “Medical Anthropology in Switzerland”. In: Anthropology and Medicine 19 (1): 48-49.
2013. (with Vilavanh Xayaseng, Khampheng Phongluxa, Kongsap Akkhavong and Peter Odermatt) “Raw Fish Consumption in Liver Fluke Endemic Areas in Rural Southern Laos”. In: Acta Tropica 127: 105-111.
2013. (with Khampheng Phongluxa, Vilavanh Xayaseng, Youthanavanh Vonghachack, Kongsap Akkhavong and Peter Odermatt) “Helminth Infection in Southern Laos: High Prevalence and Low Awareness”. In: Parasites and Vectors 6 (328): 1-15.
Chapters in Edited Books
2016. “Elderly Providing Care for Elderly in Tanzania: Against Conventions – but Accepted”. In: Katrien Pype and Jacobus Hoffman (Eds.): Ageing in Sub-Saharan Africa. Spaces and Practices of Care. Bristol: Policy Press. (Forthcoming).
2016. (with Brigit Obrist). “Becoming Old and Frail in Coastal Tanzania”. In: Lenore Manderson, Elizabeth Cartwright and Anita Hardon (Eds.): The Routledge Handbook of Medical Anthropology. New York, Oxford: Routledge. (Forthcoming).
2011. “Altern in Unsicherheit. Gesundheit und Pflege von alten Menschen in Indonesien und Tansania”. In: Carolin Kollewe and Elmar Schenkel (Eds.): Alter: unbekannt. Über die Vielfalt des Älterwerdens. Internationale Perspektiven. S. 83-111. Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag.
2010. “Der Ansatz des ‘Medizinischen Pluralismus’ in Zeiten der Globalisierung: eine medizinethnologische Perspektive“. In: Brigitte Ausfeld-Hafter and Florica Marian (Eds.): Pluralismus im Gesundheitswesen. Komplementäre Medizin im interdisziplinären Diskurs. S. 139-170. Bern, Berlin: Peter Lang. (Series ‚Komplementäre Medizin im interdisziplinären Diskurs’, Vol. 14).
2012. “Pains, Pills, and Physicians. Self-Medication as Social Agency among Elderly People in Urban Sulawesi, Indonesia”. In: Brigitte Röder, Willemijn de Jong and Karl W. Alt (Eds.): Alter(n) anders denken. Kulturelle und biologische Perspektiven. (Thinking Aging Differently. Cultural and Biological Perspectives). S. 257-279. Köln, Weimar, Wien: Böhlau Verlag. (Series ‘Kulturgeschichte der Medizin‘, Vol. 2).
Other
2014. (with Irene Dietschi and Brigit Obrist) “Afrika altert schnell”. In: Horizonte – Das Schweizer Forschungsmagazin (SNF) 103: 35.
2013. (with Brigit Obrist, Jana Gerold, Vendelin Simon, Sandra Staudacher and Andrea Grolimund) “Towards Sustainable Elder Care in Tanzania” presented as Poster at the International Research Fair ‘Results and Innovations from Transnational Research Partnerships’ of SDC/SNF, Bern (Switzerland).
2013. “Ageing, Health and Care – Old-Age Vulnerability in Indonesia and Tanzania” presented at Scientifica 2013 Zürcher Wissenschaftstage: ‘„Risiko“ – Was wir wann wagen.’ Electronic Presentation of the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Zurich (Switzerland).
2013. (with Peter Jaeggi) “Agequake in Africa“. [Altersbeben in Afrika]. Radio Programm of SRF 2 Kultur, ‚Kontext‘, on Monday, 11th November 2013, 9.06 a.m., and of SRF 4 News.
2012. (with Brigit Obrist, Constanze Pfeiffer, Jana Gerold, Richard Sambaiga, Vendelin Simon and Contributing Editor Ritu Gairola Khanduri) “Resilience: A North-South-South Dialogue on the Youth and the Elderly in Ghana and Tanzania”. In: Anthropology News (American Anthropological Association) 53 (1): 1-5.
2011. (with Patrick Harris, Brigit Obrist, Hines Mabika, Marcel Dreier and Pascal Schmid) Working Paper Research Project ‘History of Health Systems in Africa’: “Swiss Mission Hospitals and Rural Health Delivery in the 20th Century” (SNIS Final Report). Basel: Department of History and Institute of Social Anthropology, University of Basel.
Conference Presentations
Paper ‘Religion and Ageing in Indonesia and Tanzania: When Older Persons Need Care’ presented at the International Conference ‘Religion and Ageing in Global Perspective’ organised by Kirchliche Hochschule Wuppertal/Bethel and Vereinigtes Evangelisches Hilfswerk (VEM), Wuppertal (Germany), December 11-13 2015
Paper ‘From Cure to Care: Becoming Old and Diabetic in Tanzania’ presented at the Joint Inter-national Conference ‘Anthropology and Global Health: Interrogating Theory, Policy and Practice’ organised by EASA Medical Anthropology Network and the Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI) London Medical Anthropology Committee, University of Sussex, Brighton (UK), September 9-11 2015
Paper ‘Ageing, Health and Care in East Africa. Elderly People and their Vulnerability and Re-sources in Tanzania’ presented in the Lecture Series ‘Welfare Regimes in Developing Countries’ at the Institute of Sociology, Social Politics and Social Work, University of Fribourg (Switzerland), March 31 2015
Paper ‘Churches as Agents in Sustainable Development Projects: The Case of Protestant Ethnic Churches in Indonesia’ presented at the International Workshop ‘Churches as Agents in Sustainable Development Projects: The Case of Indonesia from Perspectives of Social Anthropology and History’ at the Institute of Social Anthropology, University of Bern, March 19/20 2015
Paper ‘Ageing: a New Health Challenge’ presented at the Seminar ‘Ageing, Agency and Health’ at the State University of Zanzibar (SUZA), Zanzibar City (Tanzania), and the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), January 19 + 21 2015
Paper ‘From Cure to Care: Becoming Old and Diabetic in Tanzania’ presented in the Panel ‘Aging, Elderly, and End-of-Life Care’ at the Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association (AAA), Washington (USA), December 6 2014
Paper ‘Demographic Development and its Effects on Society and Development in Subsahara Africa and in Tanzania’ presented at ‘Africa Day’ of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, in Berne, May 15 2014
Paper ‘Global Aging in Indonesia and Tanzania’ presented with Brigit Obrist in the International Colloquium Series ‘Global Aging’ at the Institute for European Global Studies, University of Basel, Basel, February 19 2014
Paper ‘Transgressing Norms of Care: Older Persons Providing Elder Care in Tanzania’ presented in the Invited Session ‘Intergenerational Dynamics in Africa Today: Changing Perspectives and Practices’ at the Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association (AAA), Chicago (USA), November 22 2013.
Paper ‘Ageing and Engagement: Older Persons Providing Care for Frail Older Persons in Tanzania’ presented in the Panel ‘Lifecycles and Health’ at the Joint International Conference ‘Encounters and Engagements: Creating New Agendas for Medical Anthropology’ organised by the EASA Medical Anthropology Network/AAA Society for Medical Anthropology/Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV Tarragona) in Tarragona (Spain), June 12-14 2013.
Paper ‘Elderly Providing Care for Elderly in Tanzania: Against Conventions – but Accepted’ presented at the Invited International Colloquium ‘Ageing in Sub-Saharan Africa: Spaces and Practices of Care’ at the Catholic University of Leuven, Leuven (Belgium), May 10 2013.
Paper ‘Elderly Providing Care for Elderly in Indonesia and Tanzania: Making Old-Age Vulnerability Visible’ presented at the Invited International Conference ‘Rethinking Care: Anthropological Perspectives on Life Courses, Kin-Work and their Trans-Local Entanglements’, International Research Centre re:work ‘Work and Human Lifecycle in Global History’, Humboldt University Berlin, Berlin (Germany), December 6-8 2012.
Paper ‘Elderly Providing Elder Care. An Underestimated Commitment in Tanzania’ presented at the 1st IAGG Africa Region Conference on Gerontology and Geriatrics ‘Africa Ageing: Beyond Madrid +10’, University of Cape Town, Cape Town (South Africa), October 17-20 2012.
Paper ‘Medical Anthropology: The Influence of Culture on Health’ presented in the Semester Inaugural Lecture at the University of Sari Putra Indonesia Tomohon (UNSRIT, North Sulawesi, Indonesia), Tomohon, August 27 2012.
Paper ‘Who Cares for the Elderly? Perspectives from Africa and Asia’ with Brigit Obrist presented at the ‘Wednesday Colloquium’, Institute of Social Anthropology, University of Basel, Basel (Switzerland), April 4 2012.
Paper ‘Ageing, Health and Care. Vulnerability and Resilience of Elderly People in Indonesia and Tanzania’ presented at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, August 23 2011.
Discussant Paper at the Invited Session ‘Circulating the Life Course: Toward an Anthropology of Care and Caregiving’ at the Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association (AAA), New Orleans (USA), November 18 2010.
Paper ‘Care and Solidarity. Vulnerability and Resilience of Elderly People in Indonesia and Tanzania’ presented at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), National University of Singapore, Singapore, August 5 2010.
Paper ‘From ´Cure to Care´ among the Elderly. Old Age Vulnerability and Resilience in Tanzania’ presented at the Research Seminar of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), July 9 2010.
Discussant Paper at the Technical Meeting of WHO ‘Ageing and Health: From Evidence to Policy’, Geneva (Switzerland), June 3 2010.
Paper ‘Care and Solidarity: Vulnerability and Resilience of Elderly in Tanzania and Indonesia’ presented at the International Swiss-South Africa Seminar ‘The Politics of Care, Welfare and Social Cohesion. Intersectional Perspectives on Redistributive and Liberal Welfare Regimes’, Gender Studies, University of Basel, and National Research Council of South Africa, Basel (Switzerland), May 3-5 2010.
Paper ’Focal Points and Transversal Topics. From the Case Studies in Ghana, Tanzania, South Africa and Ivory Coast’ presented at the International Advisory Board Meeting of the Research Project ‘History of Health Systems in Africa’, University of Basel, Basel (Switzerland), October 2 2009.
Paper ‘An Anthropological Perspective on Health Care and Support of Elderly People in Urban North Sulawesi’ presented at the Institute of Anthropology, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP), ‘Sam Ratulangi’-University of Manado (UNSRAT), Manado (North Sulawesi, Indonesia), August 28 2009.
Paper ‘Health Problems and Care of Elderly People in North Sulawesi’ presented at the Faculty of Public Health, ‘Sam Ratulangi’-University of Manado (UNSRAT), Manado (North Sulawesi, Indonesia), August 21 2009.
Paper ‘The Problem of Health and Care of Elderly Communities in North Sulawesi Urban Areas’ presented at the Faculty of Medicine, Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, Jakarta (Indonesia), August 14 2009.
Paper ‘Ageing in Insecurity. Health and Care of Elderly People in Indonesia and Tanzania’ pre-sented at the Series of Lectures ‘Ageing in the World’, Studium Generale of the University of Leipzig and Grassi Museum of Ethnography Leipzig (Germany), April 29 2009.
Paper ‘Trust and Care’ presented at Masterclass (with Martin Endress) ‘Trust and Health/Trust and Conflict’, Medical Anthropology Switzerland (MAS) and Institute of Social Anthropology, University of Basel, Basel (Switzerland), December 20 2008.
Paper ‘Age, Ageing and Growing Old in Tanzania’ presented at the ‘Wednesday Colloquium’, Institute of Social Anthropology, University of Basel, Basel (Switzerland), December 3 2008.
Paper ‘From ´Cure to Care`. Old-Age Vulnerability in Urban Indonesia’ presented at 2nd International Mainz Symposium ‘Anthropology in the 21st Century’: ‘Reflections on Old Age and Ageing in Past and Present. Biological and Cultural Perspectives’, University of Mainz, Mainz (Germany), April 4 2008.
Paper ‘The Concept of ´Medical Pluralism` in Times of Globalisation: a Medical Anthropology Perspective’ presented at the Lecture Series ‘Pluralism in the Health Sector’ of the University of Bern (Switzerland), December 6 2007.
Paper ‘Introduction: What Means ´Health on the Move in a Globalising World` in Contemporary Medical Anthropology?’ presented at the Annual Conference of the Swiss Society of Social Anthropology (SEG), ‘New Themes in Social Anthropology’, Joint Panel ‘Health on the Move – Health and Illness in a Globalising World’, Institute of Social Anthropology, University of Basel, and Medical Anthropology Switzerland (MAS), Basel (Switzerland), December 1 2007.
Paper ‘From ´Cure to Care` among the Elderly: Old-Age Vulnerability in Tanzania: A New Research Project’ presented at the ‘Wednesday Colloquium’, Institute of Social Anthropology, University of Basel, Basel (Switzerland), November 14 2007.
Discussant Paper ‘Urbanization – a Danger for Health?’, presented at the 10th Jubilee International Conference ‘Medicine in Context: Illness and Health in an Interconnected World’ of German Society for Social Anthropology (DGV) Working Group (AG) Medical Anthropology, Panel ‘Urbanization – a Danger for Health?’, Berlin (Germany), September 29 2007.
Paper ‘The Case Study ´Elderly People` in North Sulawesi’, presented at the International Conference ‘Socialisation of the Programme of the National Commission ‘Ageing’ and its Role in Striving for Increased Autonomy of Elderly People in Indonesia’, the National Commission ‘Ageing’ of the Republic Indonesia (KOMNAS ‘Lansia’) and the Indonesian Association of Epidemiologists (JEN), Diponegoro-University of Semarang (UNDIP), Semarang (Central Java, Indonesia), July 21 2007.