GSC2206

Sociology of health and illness

(ART)

Marion Collis

6 points + 3 hours per week + First semester + Gippsland and OCDL + Prerequisites: GSC1201 and GSC1202 or equivalents + Prohibition: GSC3216

Synopsis: This unit introduces students to sociological understandings of health and illness. The first section looks at the social production and patterning of health and illness, and provides a critique of the contemporary focus on health promotion. The middle section engages with recent sociological analyses of issues related to gender, the body, the illness experience and mental illness. The third section provides an understanding of the social organisation of health care with a focus on the role of scientific medicine. The ways in which both occupational groupings and patients have sought to challenge medical dominance are also examined.

Assessment: Assignment one(1000 words): 25% + Assignment two (1500 words): 35% + Seen examination (2 hours): 40%