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This course examines how medicine is practiced in different cultures around the world. In particular, we draw on theories and concepts from medical anthropology to study how these differences reveal alternative perspectives on the body, its health and its capabilities. To sharpen our inquiries into cultural differences surrounding bodily health, we look comparatively at the anthropology of sports and bodily performance. In looking at how concepts including illness, wellness, and injury differ across cultures, we consider, for example, how the bodily experience of pain not only varies according to societal beliefs and behaviors, but also changes as one pursues the limits of athletic performance. In addition to introducing how cultural anthropology engages with medicine and sports performance, this course enriches scientific interest in medicine by teaching students techniques of critical reasoning that powerfully investigate both how medicine is practiced and the cultural phenomenon of bodily health. Prior study in anthropology is not required. We anticipate talks from two current medical residents who were undergraduate majors in anthropology, a high-level athlete, and a field trip to speak with physicians at the Maryland Medical Center.