Individuals, Society and Health
Fall 2009
Syllabus
Welcome to Individuals, Society and Health! This two-quarter program for juniors and seniors will examine issues in health and medicine from a sociological perspective. We’ll organize our work around three themes:
I. Social constructions of health and disease, medicine and systems of social control, social determinants of disease and health, and roles of the mass media;
II. The social world of medicine, focusing on medical professionals and interactions between doctors (and other health professional) and patients and
III. Current issues including controversies around how health care systems are structured and funded in the United States, debates around various alternative medical practices, and arguments about medical ethics around emerging technologies and practices such as genetic testing, hospice care, etc.
During fall quarter, we will focus on the first two themes. By examining theories concerning how illness and health are socially and culturally constructed, how medical professionals are socialized and how various societies define illness and wellness, we will see how social relationships can influence the practice of medicine. Some basic statistics will also be covered. Students will do library research on various topics, as well.
This is a two-quarter program, and students will get the most from it if they remain in the program through winter quarter.
The following is an outline of the fall quarter. I try to make it as comprehensive and accurate as I can. But I will incorporate new opportunities as they come up. Please consult our website weekly for program updates (http://blogs.evergreen.edu/ish09/).
First class of the program
Tuesday Sept. 29, 9:30am-2:00pm in Sem II E2109.
Outline Week by Week:
Part I: Society, health and disease
Week 1: Introductions to the program and to the study of medical sociology
Readings: Susan Sontag (1998) Illness as a metaphor. Chapters will be ready Sunday evening at Protected Course Site.
Gravetter & Wallnau (2007) Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences, Ch 1. Access the chapter through Protected Course Site.
Writing: Health journal, one page each day (due Sat. Oct. 3rd*).
Week 2: Views of Illness and Health
Readings: Lorrie Moore (1997), People like that are the only people here. The New Yorker, January 27, pp.58-72.
Anatole Broyard (1992). “Intoxicated by my illness” in Intoxicated by My Illness and Other Writings on Life and Death. New York: Fawcett Columbine, pp.1-7.
Kenzaburo Oe (1977) “Agwhee the sky monster” in Teach Us to outgrow our Madness. New York: Grove Press, pp.222-261.
Gravetter & Wallnau (2007) Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences, Ch 2.
Writing: Seminar paper (due Tue. Oct. 6, Health journal. Statistics assignment, Proposed three topics of research project (due Sat. Oct. 10)
Week 3: Defining illness and health: Cross-cultural perspectives
Readings: Anne Fadiman (1998). The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (Paperback) Farrar, Straus and Giroux. (pp. 1-75; but read as much as you can).
Gravetter & Wallnau (2007) Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences, Ch 3.
Due: Health Journal, Statistics assignment (due Tue. Oct. 13), Topic of the research project and a brief description of the purpose and research question (due Sat. Oct. 17).
Week 4: Social Construction Of Disease
Readings: Paula M. Lantaz and Karen M. Booth (1998). “The social construction of the breast cancer epidemic,” Social Science and Medicine. 46(7):907-918.
Richard P Bental (1992). “a proposal to classify happiness as a psychiatric disorder” Journal of Medical Ethics 18:94-98.
Gravetter & Wallnau (2007) Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences, Ch 4.
Writing: Seminar paper, Statistics quiz of Chapter 1 & 2, (due Sat. 24).
Due: Abstract of the research project, Statistics assignment for Chapter 3 (both due Tue. Oct. 27); Wheelchair project report, statistics assignment, and seminar essay, make up quiz of statistics (due Sat. Oct. 31), .
Week 5: Social determinants of disease
Readings: Mokdad, A., Marks, J., Stroup, D., & Gerberding, J. (2004). Actual Causes of Death in the U.S. 2000. JAMA, 291 (10): 1238-1245.
Santor, Marc. East Meets West, Adding Pounds and Peril. The New York Times, January 12, 2006.
Scott, Janny. Life at the Top in America Isn’t Just Better, It’s Longer. The New York Times, May 16, 2005.
Gravetter & Wallnau (2007) Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences, Ch 4.
Week 6: Medicine as social control
Readings: Peter Conrad ((1975). “The discovery of hyperkinesis: notes on the medicalization of deviant behavior” Social Problems 23:12-21.
Irving K. Zola (1972). “Medicine as an institution of social control” Sociological Review 20:487-504.
Joanna Kempner (2006). “Uncovering the man in medicine: lessons learned from a case study of cluster headache” Gender & Society 20(5): 632-56.
Gravetter & Wallnau (2007) Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences, Ch 4.
Due: Statistics quiz for chapter 3 & 4 (due Tue. Nov. 3); seminar paper (due Sat. Nov. 7); Research project outline
Part II: The social world of medicine
Week 7: Sickness and Social Roles
Readings: Talcott Parsons (1951). “Social structure and dynamic process: the case of modern medical practice” in The Social System. Glencoe, IL: the Free Press, pp.428-479.
Kathy Charmaz (1991). “Experiening chronic illness” in Good days, Bad days: the self in chronic illness and Tim. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, pp.9-40.
Gravetter & Wallnau (2007) Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences, Ch 5.
Due: Statistics assignment and Draft research prospectus (due Tue. Nov. 10).
Week 8: The Doctor-patient relationship
Readings: William Carlos Williams (1932). The doctor stories. New York: New Directions, pp.vii-xv, 1-126.
Renee Anspach (1988). “Notes on the sociology of medical discourse: the language of case presentation:. Journal of Health and social behavior 29(4):357-75.
Deborah B. Leiderman and Jean-Anne Grisso (1985). “The Gomer phenomenon”, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 26: 222-232.
Gravetter & Wallnau (2007) Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences, Ch 6.
Due: Health Journal, Statistics quiz for chapter 5 and 6 (due Tue. Nov. 17); seminar paper (due Sat. Nov. 13)
Week 9: Medical education: Becoming a doctor
Readings: Howard S. Becker et al. (1961). Boys in White: Student Culture in Medical School, New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers. Skim pp.1-63; read 67-184.
Rose Weitz (2008) Health, Illness and Health Care: A Critical Approach pp.1-76.
Gravetter & Wallnau (2007) Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences, Ch 7.
Due: Health Journal, Statistics assignment and quiz (due Tue. Nov. 17)
Week 10: Summing up
Readings: No readings
Due: Research report (due Tue. Dec. 1); Oral Presentations of research project, movement presentation