SOC 189a: SOCIOLOGY OF THE BODY AND HEALTH
Fall 2012
Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, 1-1:50pm
Location TBD
Professor Sara Shostak
Email: sshostak@brandeis.edu
Office Hours: Thursday, 10:30am-12pm, and by appt.
Office: Pearlman 207
Graduate Teaching Fellow:
Margaret Clendenen
Email: mclende@brandeis.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday, 1pm-2pm, and by appt.
Office: Pearlman 104
Introduction
This course introduces the sociological study of the body and the many varied sites at which it is
implicated in health and illness. Drawing on the framing of Scheper-Hughes and Lock (1987), this course
considers three perspectives on the body: 1) the lived experience of the body/self, which is shaped
through social experience and interaction 2) a social body, which is a symbol for articulating relationships
between nature, society, and culture; and 3) a body politic, that is, the (individual and collective) body
that is subject to regulation, surveillance, and control across multiple domains of life (e.g., sex &
reproduction, medical treatment, leisure, sport). These understandings of the body represent not only
overlapping units of analysis, but also different theoretical approaches to studying the body and health.
Learning Goals
In this course, students will
1. Explore diverse theoretical perspectives on the body as a lived experience, a social phenomenon,
and a political subject;
2. Gain insight into core sociological concepts -- including stigma, identity, gender, and
medicalization -- as they apply to the body, health and illness;
3. Consider how race, class, gender, religion, and other dimensions of social organization shape
individual experiences and social understandings of the body and health;
4. Apply these insights to their own lives and to a research topic of their choice.
Course Requirements
1. Attendance and Respectful Participation
This course covers a lot of material, and attendance to both lecture and discussion section is expected.
You are also expected to bring readings, along with your notes on the readings, to class. Consistent
absences will be noted and reflected in your final grade. Laptops are allowed but ONLY for taking notes
or examining readings. Other observed uses of your laptop will result in a reduction of your attendance
grade.
As soon as we have been assigned discussion section rooms, we will meet in discussion sections during
class time each Thursday. We will announce the beginning of sections in class, and we will post section
assignments on LATTE. These smaller discussion sections will provide an important opportunity to
further explore and develop your thoughts, questions, and critiques. Your section leader will take
attendance.
I expect that you will be respectful of others in class. Examples include arriving on time, not leaving
early, listening when others speak, not monopolizing discussion time, and not having side-discussions.
Please turn cell phones and pagers off.
2. Response Papers
During the course of the semester, you are required to turn in five response papers that address the set of
readings for that week. Your paper should concisely summarize the key themes presented in the week’s
readings (~1page) and then either raise questions about these themes or provide an analysis, elaboration,
or critique in your own words (1-2pp). You may refer to other readings, personal examples, current events
and newspaper articles, or other sources to reinforce your point(s). You should engage directly with the
readings and not simply reiterate information from lecture. These papers should not exceed 3 pages each.
In order to help you to help you stay on track through the semester, you are required to write a response
paper for one of the weeks in each of the following categories:
DUE
DUE
Response Paper 1 -Week 3
9/13
or
Week 4
9/20
Response Paper 2 -Week 5
9/27
or
Week 6
10/4
Response Paper 3 -Week 9
10/25 or
Week 10
11/1
Response Paper 4 -Week 11
11/8
or
Week 12&13
11/19
Response Paper 5 -Week 15&16
12/12
You must turn your paper in the week the readings are being discussed.
Late response papers will not be accepted.
3. Experiment in Living/Body Work Paper – Due October 18
This 4-page paper will describe the results of an experiment that you will conduct during the first part of
the course. For one week, you will change one concrete aspect of your bodily practices (e.g., how you eat,
how you work, how you exercise, how you dress, how you do your hair or make-up, etc.) and report on
the effects on your wellbeing, your sense of self, your social interactions, etc. Please do not undertake
any changes that you perceive to pose a risk to your health or wellbeing. Be sure to reference at least
three course readings in describing your experience and provide complete citations to each. Your serious
and accurate use of these readings is a key component of the assignment (and your grade). A detailed
handout will be given in class describing further the requirements of this assignment.
4. What Do We Know About Health? Paper – Due November 29
The purpose of this paper is to give you the opportunity to explore the evidence base, policy
recommendations, and controversies surrounding a specific claim about human health and illness. You
can choose to focus on any individual behavior or social factor which scientists, medical providers, or
policy makers claim is associated with the health of the human body. These may include individual
behaviors (e.g., smoking, drinking, exercising, eating a specific kind of diet) or the social contexts in
which behaviors occur (e.g., living in an urban or a rural neighborhood, working in a specific kind of
industry, being part of a family or a social network, etc.). For the purposes of this assignment, please do
NOT focus on the broad biosocial categories we use to categorize individuals (e.g., race, ethnicity,
gender, age). Also, please note that whatever behavior or context you choose must allow you to answer
the questions posed by the assignment. If sufficient data are not available for any of these questions, you
should choose another focus for your paper. Be sure to reference at least three course readings in
describing your experience and provide complete citations to each. Your serious and accurate use of these
readings is a key component of the assignment (and your grade). A detailed handout will be given in class
describing further the requirements of this assignment.
5. Final Exam
During the final week of the semester, I will distribute a broad essay question designed to tie together key
sets of ideas about the sociology of the body and health. You will need to hand in your response by noon
on Monday, December 17. Late exams will not be accepted and will receive no credit.
Evaluation
Grades will be computed on the following basis:
Attendance
10%
Response Papers (5 @ 3 points each)
15%
Body Work Paper
20%
What Do We Know? Paper
25%
Final Exam
30%
Final grades will be calculated using the following distribution:
94-99 A
74-76 C
90-93 A70-73 C87-89 B+
67-69 D+
84-86 B
64-66 D
80-83 B60-63 D77-79 C+
<63 F
Course Policies
Policies for Written Work
All written papers are to be typed, double-spaced, using a 11-12-pt. Times New Roman font, 1 inch
margins, and must include page numbers, proper use of citations, and bibliographies. I place a high
premium on careful research and clear organization and writing. We will spend time in class talking about
how to do each of these assignments. Papers may not be re-written. This means you should offer your
best effort the first time and ask questions if you need clarification before completing any of the
assignments. I encourage you to use the Writing Center as you work on your papers.
Written assignments are due at the beginning of class. I will NOT accept your assignments through email. I only accept hard copies. If you have an emergency and are unable to complete an assignment,
you must speak with me as soon as possible so we can discuss how you will complete the assignment. Do
not assume that you may hand in all of your assignments at the end of the course, or that you will be
granted an extension.
You will lose one full letter grade for each 24 hours after the due date the assignment is turned in (i.e. if
you would have received an A but your paper is turned in within the first 24 hours after it is due, you will
receive a B, etc.). Documented personal illness and personal/family emergencies constitute the only
acceptable grounds for late papers.
Academic Integrity
You are expected to be familiar with and to follow the University’s policies on academic integrity (see
http://www.brandeis.edu/studentaffairs/srcs/ai/index.html). My policy is to give a “0” for any assignment
that contains plagiarized material. Additionally, I will refer any suspected instances of alleged dishonesty
to the Office of Student Development and Conduct. Instances of academic dishonesty may result in
sanctions including but not limited to failure in the course, failure on the assignment in question,
suspension from the University and/or educational programs.
Reasonable Accommodations
If you are a student who has academic accommodations because of a documented disability, please contact me
and give me a copy of your letter of accommodation in the first two weeks of the semester. If you have questions
about documenting a disability, please contact Beth Rodgers-Kay in the Academic Affairs Office (x63470,
brodgers@brandeis.edu).
Books available at the campus bookstore and on reserve at the library
Brumberg, Joan Jacobs. 1997. The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls. New York: Vintage
Books.
Gimlin, Debra. 2002. Body Work: Beauty and Self-Image in American Culture. Berkeley, CA: University of
California Press.
Groce, Nora Ellen. 2005 [1985]. Everyone Here Spoke Sign Language: Hereditary Deafness on Martha’s
Vineyard. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Preves, Sharon. 2003. Intersex & Identity: The Contested Self. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press.
All other readings will be posted on Latte.
Schedule of Sessions and Assigned Readings
Weeks 1&2
Introduction and Theorizing Bodies I
August 30
Overview and Introductions
September 5
Miner, Horace. 1956. “Body Ritual among the Nacirema.” The American
Anthropologist 58: 503-507.
Available at URL: http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~thompsoc/Body.html
Martin, Emily. 1991. “The Egg and the Sperm: How Science Has Constructed a
Romance Based on Stereotypical Male-Female Roles.” Signs 16 (3): 485-501.
September 6
Scheper-Hughes, Nancy and Margaret M. Lock. 1987. “The Mindful Body: A
Prolegomenon to Future Work in Medical Anthropology.” Medical Anthropology
Quarterly 1:6-41.
Grosz, E. Refiguring Bodies. 2005. Pp. 43-47 in The Body: A Reader. Miriam
Fraser and Monica Greco (Ed.) New York: Routledge.
Week 3
Body, Self, and Identity – Body Projects and the Beauty Industry
September 10
Brumberg, Joan Jacobs. 1997. The Body Project: An Intimate History of
American Girls. New York: Vintage Books.
Introduction & Chapter 1
September 12
Brumberg, Joan Jacobs. 1997. The Body Project: An Intimate History of
American Girls. New York: Vintage Books.
Chapters 3 & 4
September 13
Mears, Ashley. 2011. Pricing Beauty: The Making of a Fashion Model.
Introduction & Chapter 5.
Week 4
Body, Self, and Identity – Body Work
September 17
**NO CLASS**
September 19
Gimlin, Debra. 2002. Body Work: Beauty and Self-Image in American Culture.
Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Chapters 1 & 2
September 20
** Brandeis Monday**
Gimlin, Debra. 2002. Body Work: Beauty and Self-Image in American Culture. Berkeley,
CA: University of California Press.
Chapters 3&4
Week 5
Body, Self, and Identity – Being an Athlete
September 24
George, Molly. 2005. “Making Sense of Muscle: The Body Experiences of
Collegiate Women Athletes.” Sociological Inquiry 75(3): 371-345.
September 26
**NO CLASS**
September 27
Wacquant, Loic. 1995. “Pugs At Work: Bodily Capital and Bodily Labor Among
Professional Boxers.” Body and Society 1(1): 65-93
**First Sections** [tentative]
Week 6
Body, Self, and Identity – Interventions and Their Consequences
October 1
**NO CLASS**
October 3
Gilman, Sander. 2000. Making the Body Beautiful: A Cultural History of
Aesthetic Surgery. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Chapter 3: The Racial Nose
Kaw, Eugenia. 1993. “Medicalization of Racial Features: Asian American
Women and Cosmetic Surgery.” Medical Anthropology Quarterly 7(1):74-89
Film: “Killing Us Softly 3” (2000)
October 4
Week 7&8
Cummings, S. R., X. Ling, and K. Stone. 1997. “Consequences of Foot Binding
Among Older Women in Beijing, China.” American Journal of Public Health
87:1677-1679.
The Body and Medicine – Medicalization and Enhancement
October 8
** NO CLASS**
October 9
** Brandeis Monday**
Conrad, Peter. 1992. “Medicalization and Social Control.” Annual Review of
Sociology 18: 209-32.
Becker, Gay and Robert Nachtigall. 1992. “Eager for Medicalisation: The Social
Production of Infertility as a Disease.” Sociology of Health & Illness 14(4) 456471.
October 10
Conrad, Peter and Deborah Potter. 2004. “Human Growth Hormone and the
Temptations of Biomedical Enhancement.” Sociology of Health and Illness
26(2):1-32.
October 11
Hartley, Heather. 2003. "'Big Pharma' in our Bedrooms: An Analysis of the
Medicalization of Women's Sexual Problems." Pp. 89-129 in Gender
Perspectives on Health and Medicine: Key Themes, vol. Advances in Gender
Research, v.7: Elsevier.
October 15
Mamo, Laura and Jennifer R Fishman. 2001. “Potency in All the Right Places:
Viagra as a Technology of the Gendered Body.” Body & Society 7:13-35.
Loe, Meika. 2004. The Rise of Viagra: How the Little Blue Pill Changed Sex in
America. New York: New York University Press.
Chapter 3: “Fixing the Broken Male Machine”
October 17
Szymczak, Julia and Peter Conrad. 2006. “Medicalizing the Aging Male Body:
Andropause and Baldness” Pp. 89-111 in Medicalized Masculinities. Edited by
Dana Rosenfeld and Christopher Faircloth. Philadelphia: Temple University
Press.
October 18
Gura, Trisha with Julie Goodman. 14 January 2009. “The Short End of the Stick”
Available at URL: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/trisha-gura/the-short-end-ofthe-stic_b_157832.html
Film (in class): “Short” Available at URL:
http://www.notes.co.il/alterman/27320.asp
**Experiment in Living/Body Work Paper Due**
Week 9
October 22
The Body and Medicine – Sex and Gender
Preves, Sharon. 2003. Intersex & Identity: The Contested Self. New Jersey:
Rutgers University Press.
Chapter 1-2
Film: “Sex Unknown”
October 24
Preves, Sharon. 2003. Intersex & Identity: The Contested Self. New Jersey:
Rutgers University Press.
Chapter 3-4
October 25
Preves, Sharon. 2003. Intersex & Identity: The Contested Self. New Jersey:
Rutgers University Press.
Chapter 5-6
Week 10
The Body and Medicine – Making Sense of the Mind
October 29
Harrington, Anne. 2008. The Cure Within: A History of Mind-Body Medicine.
New York: W.W. Norton & Company
Chapter 4 – “Broken By Modern Life”
October 31
Robertson, Steve, Sheikh, Kay and Andrew Moore. 2010. “Embodied
Masculinities in the Context of Cardiac Rehabilitation.” Sociology
of Health & Illness 32(5): 695–710.
November 1
Horwitz, Allan V. 2007. “Transforming Normality into Pathology: The DSM and
the Outcomes of Stressful Social Arrangements.” Journal of Health and Social
Behavior 48: 211-222.
Week 11
The Body Politic -- Sex and Reproduction
November 5
Schalet, Amy. 2011. Not Under My Roof: Parents, Teens, and the Culture of
Sex. Chapter 1, “Raging Hormones, Regulated Love.” Chicago, University of
Chicago Press. Available on Google Books.
November 7
Mamo, Laura, Nelson, Amber and Aleia Clark. 2011. “Producing and Protecting
Risky Girlhoods.” Pp. 121-145 in Three Shots at Prevention: The HPV Vaccine
and the Politics of Medicine's Simple Solutions, edited by K. Wailoo, J.
Livingston, S. Epstein, and R. Aronowitz. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University
Press.
Casper, Monica J. and Laura M. Carpenter. 2008. “Sex, Drugs, and Politics: The
HPV Vaccine for Cervical Cancer.” Sociology of Health & Illness 30:886-899
November 8
Brückner, Hannah and Peter Bearman. 2005. "After the Promise: The STD
Consequences of Adolescent Virginity Pledges." Journal of Adolescent Health
36:271-278.
Talbot, Margaret. 3 November 2008. "Red Sex, Blue Sex: Why Do So Many
Evangelical Teen-agers Become Pregnant?" The New Yorker.
Week 12&13
The Body Politic -- Body Image, Obesity, and Malnutrition
November 12
Lovejoy, Meg. 2001. “Disturbances in the Social Body: Differences in Body
Image and Eating Problems among African American and White Women.”
Gender & Society 15:239-261.
November 14
Saguy, A. and K. Riley. 2005. “Weighing Both Sides: Morality, Mortality and
Framing Contests over Obesity.” Journal of Health Politics, Policy, and Law
30(5): 869-921.
November 15
Salant, Talya, and Heena Santry. 2006. “Internet Marketing of Bariatric Surgery:
Contemporary Trends in the Medicalization of Obesity.” Social Science and
Medicine 62: 2445-2457.
November 19
Gottlieb, Robert, and Anupama Joshi. 2010. “Accessing Food.” Pp. 39-58 in
Food Justice. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
November 21 & 22
**NO CLASS**
Week 14
The Body Politic: The Social Construction of Disability
November 26
Groce, Nora Ellen. 2005 [1985] Everyone Here Spoke Sign Language:
Hereditary Deafness on Martha’s Vineyard. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
Chapters 1-4
Film: “Sound and Fury”
November 28
Groce, Nora Ellen. 2005 [1985] Everyone Here Spoke Sign Language: Hereditary
Deafness on Martha’s Vineyard. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Chapters 5-8
November 29
Parens, Erik and Adrienne Asch. 2003. “Disability Rights Critique of Prenatal
Genetic Testing: Reflections and Recommendations.” Mental Retardation and
Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews 9: 40-47.
**What Do We Know About Health? Paper Due**
Week 15&16
The Body Politic: Resistance & Social Movements
December 3
Craig, Maxine Leeds. 2002. Ain’t I a Beauty Queen? Black Women, Beauty, and
the Politics of Race. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapters 1&2
December 5
Brown, P., Zavestoski, S., Luebke, T., Mandelbaum, J., McCormick, S. and B.
Mayer. 2003. “The Health Politics of Asthma: Environmental Justice and
Collective Illness Experience in the United States.” Social Science and Medicine
57:453-464
RECOMMENDED:
Phil Brown, Steve Zavestoski, Sabrina McCormick, Brian Mayer, Rachel
Morello-Frosch, and Rebecca Gasior. 2004. “Embodied Health Movements:
Uncharted Territory In Social Movement Research.” Sociology of Health and
Illness 26:1-31
December 6
Kang, Miliann. 2010. “Manicuring Intimacies: Inequality and Resistance in
Asian-Owned Nail Salons.” In Intimate Labors: Cultures, Technologies, and the
Politics of Care. Edited by Eileen Boris and Rhacel Salazar Parrenas. Palo Alto:
Stanford University Press.
December 10
Gottlieb, Robert, and Anupama Joshi. 2010. “Forging New Food Routes.” Pp.
151-176 in Food Justice. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
December 12
Concluding Discussion and Distribution of Final Exam
Due: December 17, before noon, to Pearlman 207