This module investigates the sociological dimensions of health and illness. The module encompasses a broad range of topics, which may include changing concepts of health and wellbeing; the social context and consequences of illness; the lived experience of ill health and disability; the rise and expansion of medicine as a major social institution in contemporary societies and the organisation and delivery of healthcare in formal and informal settings. Beyond this, students will explore other dimensions of health and illness – for example: the roles of and relationship between patients, professionals and policymakers, the influence of broader interest groups such as the media, science and technology and the transnational pharmaceutical industry. Substantive topics may include health inequalities; medicalisation and the social construction of illness; citizenship, welfare and health; medicine as an institution of social control; the politics of disability; new medical technologies and the ‘cyborg’ body; the lived experience of chronic illness; and global health issues.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should be able to:
Identify and critically assess the conceptual developments and debates in the sociology of health and illness
Evaluate the influence of sociological factors in the definition, causation and response to ill health and disability
Demonstrate awareness of different perspectives on the role, function and influence of medicine and healthcare in contemporary societies
Understand and comment on the contested nature of health, illness, the body and medical knowledge