SOC 5420 - Medicine, Culture and Society

This course explores theoretical and practical issues in how to approach the study of illness and medical system. This is an interdisciplinary and internationally focused class that will examine the classic literature that grounds the study of medicine and society as well as recent theoretical literature that demonstrates the breadth of approaches today. The class focuses on an examination of the work of interdisciplinary medical social scientists with several thematic topics including medicalization, the history of health disparities, the structure of health systems and global marketing of health products and the consequences of medical interventions. Our focus in on qualitative research that theoretically explores the ways in which cultural and social knowledge (including class, race and gender) influences health, illness and health outcomes.

Credits: 3 hours

Notes: Open to upperclass and graduate students.