SOCY 360 H01 24103

SocBehavSci

Health and illness in relation to social institutions. The organization and professionalization of medicine and social barriers to medical care. FS: 10/02/2019. CL: 2020.

Notes:

The sociology of medicine and health is a broad field examining the social construction and production of health, wellness, illness and mortality. To understand health and illness, we must look beyond biology and medical knowledge, and consider the social, political, economic, and cultural forces which produce health. We will survey the central topics in the field, with emphasis the following themes: the structural and cultural dimensions of health; health inequalities; the profession of medicine; the experience of illness; and attempts to reform healthcare. Throughout the course, we will apply sociological theory and recent scholarship from across the social sciences to make sense of contemporary issues in health and medicine. Although the course focuses on the United States, we will try whenever possible to place issues in a global context.