Spring 2008

SOC 395J • 1-SOCIOL OF HEALTH AND ILLNESS

Course Description

This course examines the distribution and determinants of health and well-being in populations, focusing on the social causes of physical and mental health. It examines the links between theory and research in the sociology of health, with a focus on the health effects of the social systems of stratification and inequality, including education; work; income; gender; marriage, parenthood, age; family background; and neighborhoods and community. We will examine the social patterns of physical and mental health and the explanations for these patterns with a focus on subjective alienation, including powerlessness, social isolation, estrangement, meaninglessness, normlessness, and mistrust; and on health lifestyle. We read current research on the social patterns of health, and the theoretical explanations for these patterns.

Texts

Social Causes of Psychological Distress , second edition, 2003, by John Mirowsky and Catherine Ross, Aldine (paperback). Education, Social Status, and Health, 2003, by John Mirowsky and Catherine Ross, Aldine (paperback).

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