SOC-215 - Health, Illness, & Society

3 credits

This course provides an overview of basic concepts in public health and the sociological analysis of health and illness in U.S. society. Health and illness are not distributed equally - we will examine the “social epidemiology” of illness and death, considering their differential distribution in the U.S., and will discuss the important roles of race, class, gender, and sexuality. We will also examine how social and medical understandings of illness have evolved over time, since the development of biomedicine and public health in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Finally, we will consider how health, culture, and power interact in society and shape interpretations of illness and disease, medical experiences and interactions, and health outcomes. The primary goals of the course are to help students think critically about how health and disease are defined and distributed in the U.S., and how health systems respond to what’s defined as illness.

Prerequisite(s): ENG-095 or ENG-098 (minimum grade C-) or placement at higher level.

Mass Transfer Gen Ed Foundation: Credits earned in this course are counted towards the Mass Transfer Gen Ed Foundation’s Behavioral and Social Sciences requirements.