PUBHLT 0403 - SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON HEALTH: LINKING THEORY AND PRACTICE

Minimum Credits: 3
Maximum Credits: 3
Long Description This course provides an overview of theoretical perspectives commonly employed in the social sciences, particularly sociology and anthropology, and their application to public and global health. This course focuses on three theoretical perspectives, namely the conflict or critical perspective, social integration, and the sociology of meaning (including social construction, medicalization, and symbolic interactionism), and uses these theoretical perspectives to analyze various aspects of health and illness, the healthcare system, and health policy issues around the world. For each perspective, our aim will be to understand: (1) its assumptions about human nature and our social world; (2) how it helps us think differently about social institutions, social structure, power, and human agency; and (3) the analytical and practical questions it raises for researchers and practitioners in public and global health. Students will engage with each theory, critiquing the underlying assumptions they make and identifying the strengths and weaknesses in the applicability of these theoretical perspectives to public and global health. We will explore how these theoretical perspectives help us to think about the global processes, systems, and structures that constitute our global imaginary. The course will introduce critical elements of each perspective and investigate how each influences the scientific questions that are posed and, subsequently, the research, programmatic, and policy recommendations that may follow. This course satisfies the writing intensive requirement for Public Health undergraduate students.
Academic Career: Undergraduate
Course Component: Lecture
Grade Component: Letter Grade
Course Requirements: PREQ: ENG 0102 or ENGCMP (0002 or 0006 or 0020 or 0200 or 0203 or 0205 or 0207 or 0208 or 0210 or 0212 or 0213 or 0214) or ENGFLM 0210 or FP (0003 or 0006) or (ENGR 0012 or 0712 or 0715 or 0716 or 0718); LVL: JUNIOR OR HIGHER

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