Thesis Christ: Investigating Humanitarianism with Aakash Mishra

When does humanitarianism become harmful? This question lies at the heart of premed student Aakash Mishra’s anthropology thesis, which explores the ongoing implications of a French medical humanitarian law passed in 1998.

This “illness clause” allows foreigners with serious illnesses and chronic conditions to gain a residence permit to stay in France. Previous ethnographic research has found that the law pushed more people to attempt to contract new illnesses or prolong their existing conditions in order to remain in the country. “The intent was humanitarian, but the outcome was incentivizing illness in a way that we don’t want,” explained Mishra. 

Originally, Mishra was introduced to this law in a political anthropology class he took while studying abroad at the American University of Paris in fall 2023. Between May and June 2024, Mishra returned to Paris for over three weeks to embark upon his original ethnographic research. In that time, Mishra conducted twelve interviews and collected over 90 pages of raw data.

Mishra expressed his initial surprise at the thoroughness of the procedures he was required to follow by the Reed Institutional Review Board (IRB). He had to revise some of the original measures he proposed for his research, such as ensuring the secure storage of the pseudonyms he used for his interviewees. Mishra explained that the strict data protocols he adhered to included transcribing all interviews by hand and shredding his notes once they were digitally copied into a password-protected document.

While Mishra was not prepared at first for the rigor of the ethical measures he was required to follow, he has come to appreciate their value. “That was the moment I realized that I have to be very serious about this because when you have these stakes, you want to make sure that you’re being aware of how you can protect the privacy and security of these people,” Mishra said.

Mishra was first motivated to study medical anthropology with an eye on enriching his medical school applications, but his thesis has evolved over multiple years of work into a project with greater consequences for his future goals. Speaking on his field of study, Mishra remarked, “It’s interesting and it seems like I’ve got the resources I need at Reed, so I tried to make the most of it and it became a bigger thing than I expected in a really beautiful and inspiring way.”

Mishra’s thesis advisor is Associate Professor of Anthropology Betsey Brada, whose help in contextualizing the field of medical anthropology has provided an influential framework for Mishra’s larger project. In his research, Mishra is indebted to the work of French scholar Didier Fassin, whose book Humanitarian Reason: A Moral History of the Present he cited as a major influence. In particular, Fassin critiques the negative impacts humanitarianism can have, which are often covered up by the concept’s outward associations of benevolence. Additionally, Mishra has built upon the research of City University of New York professor Miriam Ticktin, a colleague of Professor of Anthropology Paul Silverstein, whose work on “regimes of care” — institutional processes associated with providing care to vulnerable populations — has offered valuable insight for Mishra’s own work. 

With a rich body of research on humanitarianism and the 1998 French illness clause in particular already available, Mishra is concerned with ensuring that his thesis does not merely restate existing knowledge. “I wanted to contribute something new to the field, which I don’t know if that’s expected from undergraduates, but I definitely feel like, with the resources Reed’s given me, is possible,” said Mishra.

Outside of his thesis, Mishra volunteers at Oregon Health and Sciences University (OHSU) in the trauma unit, which has shaped the work he intends to pursue in the medical field. “My dream is to work in the field where I can make the most difference and where it’s needed most. In general, I think medical anthropology has conveyed to me the personhood in patients, where people can be patients, where that can diverge and converge, and what that means to us,” he stated.

At the moment, Mishra has reached a significant turning point in his writing process, having finally realized the conclusion he could draw from his data as a whole. Mishra expressed his reaction to this breakthrough, explaining, “I feel glad that I picked a topic that was as motivating and close to my interests as I did, because it’s something I get excited about when I feel [there are] days where I don’t want to write any more and I hit a wall, but when I do come to that conclusion, it’s just this sense of academic bliss that I came to Reed for.”

Summing up the lasting implications of his thesis upon his future aspirations, Mishra remarked, “While this started as a Reed College thesis, it’s really become a project to contribute to medical anthropology as a field. It’s more than just something to graduate from Reed, it’s truly a project that I feel like I’ve been lucky to indulge myself in.”