Junior Tutorial: Sociology of Health and Illness

SOCIOL 98DB Subject & Catalog Number

Description

Why do non-Hispanic Black babies represent one-third of all US births, but three-fourths of infant deaths? Why do we see body fat, but not social isolation, as a public health crisis? How can the pursuit of health be used to perpetuate social inequalities—and to contest them?

Addressing questions such as these, this junior tutorial introduces students to a sociological approach to health and illness. We will focus on four areas: 1) the social determinants and social distribution of health—how social conditions and positions produce disease for some and wellness for others; 2) the social construction of health and illness; 3) the social experience of illness, including how our responses to illness are structured by social factors, and 4) health as a meaningful social practice that shapes social action and organization far beyond the individual body. Posing a research question of their choosing, students will conduct an original research project using qualitative methods such as interviews, observations, or content analysis.