Please note that this syllabus should be regarded as only a general guide to the course. The instructor may have changed specific course content and requirements subsequent to posting this syllabus. Last Modified: 11:23:02 01/10/2013
Tuesday/Thursday 1:30-2:45 pm
209 Cushing
Professor: Sara Moorman
Office: 404 McGuinn Hall
Office hours: Tuesdays 10:00-11:00 and Thursdays 3:00-4:00
E-mail: moormans@bc.edu
Teaching Assistant: Will Attwood-Charles
Office: 410-D McGuinn Hall
Office hours: Mondays 10:00-11:00 and Wednesdays 2:00-3:00
E-mail: will.charles@gmail.com
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.

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Academic Honesty
Your work must be your words and ideas. When writing papers, use quotation marks around someone else’s exact words and identify whose words they are. If you come across a good idea, by all means use it in your writing, but be sure to acknowledge whose idea it is. Failure to comply 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 the College’s policies on academic integrity here: http://www.bc.edu/content/bc/offices/stserv/academic/integrity.html
Required Books
The bookstore has ordered:

Fadiman, Anne. 2012. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down . (ISBN
9780374533403)

Marmot, Michael and Richard G. Wilkinson (Eds). 2005. Social Determinants of Health .
2 th
ed. (ISBN 9780198565895)

Reid, T. R. 2010. The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and
Fairer Health Care . (ISBN 9780143118213)
These books are also available on 2-hour reserve at O’Neill Library.
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 .
Schedule
Due Date Topic Reading
January 15 Introduction to
January 17 the course
Health Care
Systems and
Reform
Reid prologue, chapters 1&2
Reid chapters 3&4 January 22
January 24
January 29
January 31
February 5
February 7
Reid chapters 5&6
Reid chapters 7&8
Reid chapters 9&10
Reid chapters 11&12
Reid chapter 13, afterword, appendix

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March 14
March 19
March 21
March 26
March 28
April 2
April 4
April 9
April 11
April 16
April 18
April 23
April 25
April 30
May 2
February 12
February 14
February 19
February 21
February 26
February 28
March 5
March 7
March 12
Social and
Cultural
Influences on
Health and Illness
Fadiman prologue, chapters 1-4 Reid point / counterpoint
Fadiman chapters 5-7
Fadiman chapter 8-10
Fadiman chapters 11-13
Spring break
Spring break
Health Disparities across the Life
Course
Fadiman chapters 14-16
Fadiman chapters 17-19
***no class***
***no class***
Marmot & Wilkinson chapters 1&2
Marmot & Wilkinson chapter 3
Marmot & Wilkinson chapter 4
Marmot & Wilkinson chapter 5
Marmot & Wilkinson chapter 6
Holy Thursday ***no class***
Fadiman reflection
Marmot & Wilkinson chapter 7
Marmot & Wilkinson chapter 8
Marmot & Wilkinson chapter 9
Marmot & Wilkinson chapter 10
Marmot & Wilkinson chapter 11
Marmot & Wilkinson chapter 12
Marmot & Wilkinson chapter 13
Marmot & Wilkinson chapter 14
Marmot & Wilkinson chapter 15
Marmot & Wilkinson chapter 16 Life course paper
Reid point/counterpoint 25%
More detailed information about each of these assignments will be forthcoming in class, but to give you an overview of what we’ll be doing…

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Daily writing : Always come to class having read any reading assigned for the day. We’ll start off every class with 5-10 minutes of writing in response to a prompt to help you organize your ideas.
Sometimes I’ll collect and grade that work.
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).
Fadiman reflection : I virtually guarantee that in ten years, you’ll still remember reading Ann
Fadiman’s book. It’s a very emotional story that covers a number of ethically and morally complex issues, and you’ll write 3-5 pages of reflection upon what you’ve read.
Life course paper: In the classes before spring break, we’ll talk about a variety of health issues that affect people of different ages. You’ll write a 5-page research paper exploring either (a) one of the issues we covered in class in greater depth, or (b) a topic of your own choosing.
Assessment
Grading scale
A+ none at Boston College
B+ 87 – 89%
C+ 77 – 79%
D+ 67 – 69%
A
B
C
D
93 – 100%
83 – 86%
73 – 76%
63 – 66%
A-
B-
C-
D-
90 – 92%
80 – 82%
70 – 72%
60 – 62%
Submitting Papers
By 11:59 pm on the paper due date:
(1) Go to the website www.dropitto.me/moormans
(2) Enter the password SC078
(3) Upload your file
Late Work Policy
Papers submitted after 11:59 pm on the due date are late and will lose a letter grade a day. That is, papers submitted on time are worth, at best, an A. Papers submitted between midnight and
11:59 pm of the day following the due date are worth, at best, a B.
Do not ask me for personal extensions unless you have a very good reason. There are very few good reasons. Good reasons do NOT include: “I have four tests that day!” or “It’s my birthday next weekend!” or “My computer is broken!” Always plan ahead, and keep a backup. If you must submit work late but wish to avoid the late penalty, you must provide proof of extenuating circumstances (e.g., doctor’s note, funeral program).
Note that hard copies of papers count as “submitted” at the time I receive them: If you slide it under my office door at 11 pm on the due date but I do not find it until I arrive at my office the next morning, it’s late!