The Politics of Health and Medicine in the United States
SOC-STD 98WD
Subject & Catalog Number
Course Information
Description
How does politics shape our health? In this multidisciplinary class, students explore the historical origins of institutions like Medicare and Medicaid, the FDA, and the NIH. We seek to explain the politics of why American healthcare policy differs so dramatically from its peers, with narrowly targeted public programs and a dominant private insurance sector. Students learn how epidemiologists and clinicians today think about social determinants of health, especially racial disparities in care and outcomes. We conduct deep dives into topics like the sociology of mental illness, maternal mortality, the Affordable Care Act, Covid-19, and the medical ecosystem here in Boston. We consider normative questions, like how to balance cultural competency or patient autonomy with the medical mission to provide care and prevent harm. Finally, students also observe how public health researchers make use of social science methods, from the ethnographic case study to the clinical trial. This is a junior tutorial.
Course Notes
This course will be lotteried and is open to non-concentrators if space permits. This course must be taken for a Letter Grade and cannot be taken Pass/Fail.
Not Available for Cross Registration
