SC078: Sociology of Health and Illness
Spring 2014
Tuesday/Thursday 10:30-11:45 am
306 Gasson Hall
Professor: Sara Moorman
Office: 404 McGuinn Hall
Office hours: Tuesdays 2:15 - 3:15 pm; Thursdays 9:15 - 10:15 am
E-mail: moormans@bc.edu
Teaching Assistant: Jeremiah Morelock
Office: 410-D McGuinn Hall
Office hours: Wednesdays 1:15-2:15 pm; Thursdays 1:45-2:45 pm
E-mail: morelocj@bc.edu
About the Course
The World Health Organization defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and
social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” This course will consider
this “whole-person” definition across the human life course using a range of sociological
principles and perspectives. Major topics will include the structure of health care systems in the
United States and globally, doctor-patient interaction, social and cultural influences on health
and disease, and social disparities in the distribution of health and quality health care.
Sociology of Health and Illness as a Core Course
Core courses at Boston College: (a) help students to ask and answer the "perennial questions,”
(b) present culturally diverse material, (c) present an historical view of the subject,
(d) demonstrate the methodology of the discipline, (e) include a significant writing component,
and (f) challenge students to create a personal philosophy of life.
The Sociology of Health and Illness covers these six themes. It addresses perennial questions
including “How should a society care for its sick and disabled members?” and “What does it
mean to be healthy?” The course addresses these questions through a series of readings authored
by experts from a breadth of disciplines. The course explores cultural diversity through two
lenses. One is inequality: Are there systematic patterns in who is unfortunately enough to be sick
and who is privileged enough to be well? The second is difference: Can the same person be
“sick” under one set of cultural norms and “well” under another? The course examines the
history of health, illness, and medicalization, particularly as they concern the development of
health care policy in the United States. The course takes a critical perspective towards data,
requiring that students understand the strengths and weaknesses of the findings deriving from
various research designs. Writing is emphasized in the required coursework. Finally, students are
expected to develop a lifelong philosophy for maintaining their own health and well-being and
enhancing the health and well-being of those with whom they come into contact through
personal relationships or through professional conduct as a health care provider.
SC078 Sociology of Health and Illness
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Academic Honesty
Cheating, plagiarism, collusion, and other academic offenses will result in (a) automatic failure
of the assignment, and (b) a report to the Dean and the Committee on Academic Integrity. For
further information, please review BC’s policies on academic integrity at: www.bc.edu/integrity
Accommodations
If you are a student with a documented disability seeking reasonable accommodations in this
course, please contact Kathy Duggan, (617) 552-8093, dugganka@bc.edu, at the Connors Family
Learning Center regarding learning disabilities and ADHD, or Paulette Durrett, (617) 552-3470,
paulette.durrett@bc.edu, in the Disability Services Office regarding all other types of disabilities,
including temporary disabilities. Advance notice and appropriate documentation are required for
accommodations.
Assessment
Grading scale
A+
none at Boston College
B+
87 – 89%
C+
77 – 79%
D+
67 – 69%
F
below 60%
A
B
C
D
93 – 100%
83 – 86%
73 – 76%
63 – 66%
Assignments
Task
Pop quizzes on the reading
ABCD-
90 – 92%
80 – 82%
70 – 72%
60 – 62%
Percentage of grade
25%
Reid point/counterpoint
25%
Experience with diagnosis, labeling, and/or the sick role
25%
Health inequalities
25%
Pop quizzes on the reading: Always come to class having read what’s listed on the schedule for
that day. We’ll have occasional unannounced (i.e., “pop”) closed-book quizzes. They will be 2-5
multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, and/or short answer questions. They’ll cover only the day’s
reading—that is, they won’t require you to recall details from previous chapters or books. I will
drop your lowest quiz score. Quizzes may not be made up later, unless you have a documented
absence.
Everything else: Scores on three writing assignments will determine the rest of your grade. I’ll
provide you with much greater detail on these assignments as they get closer. Here are the
basics:
SC078 Sociology of Health and Illness
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(1) Reid point/counterpoint. T.R. Reid has strong opinions on how to fix the health care system
in the United States. For this assignment, you’ll find and read some sources that disagree with
him, and then you’ll write a 3-5 page paper taking your own stance on a particular aspect of U.S.
health care policy (e.g., insurance coverage of contraception; rationing health care for older
adults).
(2) Experience with diagnosis, labeling, and/or the sick role. We’ll address what it means,
socially, to have a diagnosis (a label) for a set of symptoms of illness, and the way people behave
– or feel they are supposed to behave – before and after they have that label. You’ll apply these
class concepts in a 2-4 page reflection on your own experiences or the experiences of a friend or
loved one. (If you have no personal stories, or don’t wish to tell a personal story, you can instead
analyze someone else’s story. There are dozens upon dozens of illness narratives published in
books, magazines, and online.)
(3) Health inequalities. An extremely important topic in the Sociology of Health and Illness is
differences in health that are caused by race/ethnicity, social class, gender, age, marital status,
immigration status, and/or a number of other social factors. Because the semester is just not long
enough to do everything, we’re giving this topic fairly short shrift in class. So for this
assignment, you’ll choose a topic, research it yourself, and write a 5-7 page paper about it.
Blackboard
Visit the Blackboard page for this course regularly for announcements, grades, course materials,
a copy of the syllabus, etc. I promise you that everything you’ve ever needed (or wanted) to
know about this course is posted, so look before you e-mail. If you e-mail me and don’t get an
answer within 48 hours, it’s because you don’t need me to tell you the answer to your question.
Extra Credit
Any extra credit opportunities will be made available to the entire class, and will be announced
both in class and on Blackboard.
Late Paper Policy
Papers submitted after 11:59 pm on the due date will lose a letter grade per day. For example, a
paper submitted between midnight and 11:59 pm of the day following the due date is worth, at
best, a B.
Do not ask me for personal extensions.
You must provide proof of extenuating circumstances (e.g., a note from the infirmary or from
your academic dean) to avoid the late penalty.
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Required Books
The bookstore has ordered:




Conrad, Peter. 2007. The Medicalization of Society. (ISBN 080188585)
Goffman, Erving. 1963. Stigma. (ISBN 671622447)
Reid, T. R. 2010. The Healing of America. (ISBN 143118213)
Watters, Ethan. 2010. Crazy Like Us. (ISBN 416587095)
These books are also available on 2-hour reserve at O’Neill Library.
If you need support to buy books, please contact the Montserrat Coalition—go to Brock House at
78 College Road, call 617-552-8865, or e-mail Paula Dias at paula.dias@bc.edu.
Schedule
See page 5 below.
Submitting Papers
No later than 11:59 pm on the paper due date:
(1) Go to the website www.dropitto.me/moormans
(2) Enter the password SC078
(3) Browse for your file, then click “Upload.”
SC078 Sociology of Health and Illness
Date
Topic
January 14
Introduction
January 16
Health care systems
and reform
Page 5 of 6
Reading
Reid prologue, chapters 1 & 2
January 21
Reid chapters 3 & 4
January 23
Reid chapters 5 & 6
January 28
Reid chapters 7 & 8
January 30
Reid chapters 9 & 10
February 4
Reid chapters 11 & 12
February 6
Reid chapter 13, afterword,
appendix
February 11
Diagnosis, labeling,
and the sick role
Due
Goffman chapter 1
February 13
Goffman chapter 2
February 18
Goffman chapter 3
February 20
Goffman chapters 4 & 5
February 25
On Being Sane in Insane
Places (see Blackboard)
February 27
The Gomer Phenomenon (see
Blackboard)
March 4
Spring break
***No Class***
March 6
Spring break
***No Class***
March 11
Social constructions
of health and illness
Conrad chapter 1
March 13
Conrad chapter 2
March 18
Conrad chapter 3
March 20
Conrad chapter 4
Reid point /
counterpoint
SC078 Sociology of Health and Illness
Date
Reading
Due
March 25
Conrad chapter 5
Experience
paper
March 27
Conrad chapter 6
April 1
Conrad chapter 7
April 3
Conrad chapter 8
April 8
Watters introduction &
chapter 1
April 10
Watters chapter 2
April 15
Watters chapter 3
April 17
Topic
Page 6 of 6
Holy Thursday
April 22
April 24
***No Class***
Watters chapter 4 &
conclusion
Interaction between
health care
practitioners and
patients
Watching Brian Die: The
Rhetoric and Reality of
Informed Consent (see
Blackboard)
April 29
Behavior in Pubic Places:
The Sociology of the Vaginal
Exam (see Blackboard)
May 1
What ‘Patient Centered’
Should Mean (see
Blackboard)
Health
inequalities