This course will provide an introduction to central topics in the sociology of medicine while also suggesting how that field is being redefined and reinvigorated by science and technology studies. Students will seek to understand health, health care, and biomedicine by exploring multiple domains: (1) the work sites in which health professionals interact with one another and with their clients; (2) the cultural arenas within which ideas of health and disease circulate; (3) the market relations that produce health care as a commodity; the institutions that transform social inequalities into health disparities; and (4) the social movements that challenge biomedical practices and the authority of experts.

Grade Basis: AL
Credit hours: 3.0
Lecture hours: 3.0