SOC 214 - Sociology of Health and Disability

Credits: 5
LEC hours per week: 5
This course examines the body and the field primarily concerned with it–medicine–from a primarily sociological perspective to understand the role of social forces in morbidity, disability, and mortality. Students explore how society shapes bodies and embodiment; how social forces affect population health and health care delivery; and how bodies are inscribed with unequal privilege.
Recommended: READ 088 or higher.
Course Outcomes:

Apply sociological concepts and theories to the body, specifically related to embodiment and experiences of illness and disability.
Analyze the relationships between health, disability, and social institutions.
Examine how social forces contribute to the evolution of the authority of medicine, the contents of healthcare, and the definition of disability.
Evaluate health and disability policy, as well as ethical dilemmas in medicine.

Course Topics:

Sociological research methods
Theories of the body and embodiment
Health disparities
Bodily stigma and privilege
Experiences of illness and disability
Health care inequities
Medical authority
Intersectional identities