Who defines health and illness? Why is disease and premature death unequally distributed in society? What social forces cause individuals to get sick or stay healthy? How have changes in the medical profession, the health care system, and health policy affected treatment outcomes and illness experiences? This course addresses these questions through a presentation of important concepts and substantive issues the sociology of health and illness (or medical sociology), and an introduction to major classic and contemporary research in this area. We will compare and contrast sociological perspectives on health with the perspectives offered by biomedicine, psychiatry and allied disciplines. The course has two major sections: The first covers the social origins of illness the social construction of illness and biomedical knowledge, social epidemiology, and social influences on personal experiences of illness. The second section covers social and institutional responses to illness and the impact of these on physician-patient interactions, health outcomes, and the distribution of disease. In this section we will examine the medical profession, the health care system, health policy, and the changing nature of these. Class sessions will emphasize group discussions and exercises based on original scholarly writings. Discussions and exercises are designed to encourage the development of analytic skills, recognition of the benefits of collaborative approaches to complex problems, and independent exploration of course material.

Who defines health and illness? Why is disease and premature death unequally distributed in society? What social forces cause individuals to get sick or stay healthy? How have changes in the medical profession, the health care system, and health policy affected treatment outcomes and illness experiences? This course addresses these questions through a presentation of important concepts and substantive issues the sociology of health and illness (or medical sociology), and an introduction to major classic and contemporary research in this area. We will compare and contrast sociological perspectives on health with the perspectives offered by biomedicine, psychiatry and allied disciplines. The course has two major sections: The first covers the social origins of illness the social construction of illness and biomedical knowledge, social epidemiology, and social influences on personal experiences of illness. The second section covers social and institutional responses to illness and the impact of these on physician-patient interactions, health outcomes, and the distribution of disease. In this section we will examine the medical profession, the health care system, health policy, and the changing nature of these. Class sessions will emphasize group discussions and exercises based on original scholarly writings. Discussions and exercises are designed to encourage the development of analytic skills, recognition of the benefits of collaborative approaches to complex problems, and independent exploration of course material.