SOCIOLOGY 3362—MEDICAL SOCIOLOGY
SPRING 2005 CLASS SYLLABUS
DR. CHERYL HOWARD/choward@utep.edu
OLD MAIN 302
747-6530/ choward@utep.edu
OFFICE HOURS: /TT 8:30-9:00; 12:00-12:30; W 10:00-11:30 OR BY APPOINTMENT
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
In this course, we will examine our health and disease history, beliefs, and experiences, and the institutions
we maintain that are in consonance or conflict with our beliefs. Through readings, class discussion, guest
lectures, films, and field projects, we will confront the myriad of issues that surround us. Special emphasis
will be placed on issues relevant to the U.S.-Mexican border. Throughout the class, we will maintain an
“upstream” (sociological/public health) focus, as opposed to a clinical or “medical” perspective.
The class is also designed, through targeted assignments, to improve general academic skills in the
following areas:
--reading comprehension and test-taking skills
--understanding and interpreting statistics
--accessing academic literature and internet resources
--linking scientific evidence to lived experience and constructing new knowledge
--honing observational and critical thinking skills
--enlarging your vocabulary
--encouraging self expression in oral and written communications
These skills are connected to each other and portable to other classes and many job settings.
TEXT:
The Sociology of Health, Illness, and Health Care by Rose Weitz
An additional book will be required. You may choose from a list of books I have compiled. After
reading the book, you will write a 4-6 page reaction paper to it. That assignment may be turned in
any time during the semester. The reaction paper will be worth 10% of your final grade.
EXAMINATIONS:
There will be an in-class midterm consisting of short answer and short essay questions, focusing on the
text, readings, class lectures and presentations. You will have a choice of a final exam or a group project at
the end of the semester. Each will be worth 15% of your final grade.
JOURNAL: You will be asked to keep a journal, consisting of reading notes, homework assignments,
vocabulary, independent observations, class notes, and reflections. I will occasionally give in class writing
assignments. The journal will be worth 45% of your grade (15% homework, 15% reading notes, 15%
everything else). Reading Notes. As you read the assigned chapters, outline what you think are the
important points. During the first few weeks, I will give a formal lecture with an opportunity for you to
check your notes with my assessment of key information. After that, our discussions will be less formal,
and I will assume that you have read the chapter, and that we are “on the same page.” As you read and take
notes, record any questions you have or note concepts that are unclear. Use these observations to enrich
our classroom discussions by asking questions or connecting what you have read to something you have
observed or experienced. Homework Assignments. On most weeks, you will be assigned a task designed
to relate the readings to every day experiences, or to retrieve and interpret information from the library or
the internet. These assignments are normally given on Thursdays so that you have the weekend (or you
could plan ahead!) to complete the assignment. The small group sessions on Tuesdays are times for you to
share your findings with a few of your classmates, and then designate someone to share your group’s
observations with the rest of the class. We will discuss each assignment ahead of time in class. No
assignment is complete without a reflection on what you have learned.
GRADING: The remaining 15% of your grade will be based on attendance, preparation, and participation.
PHILOSOPHY:
I EXPECT EACH STUDENT TO BE AN “ACTIVE” LEARNER, TO COME TO CLASS PREPARED
TO DISCUSS, DEBATE, SHARE EXPERIENCES, AND TO ASK QUESTIONS OF THEMSELVES,
EACH OTHER AND ME.
WEEKLY SCHEDULE
1/11
1/13
Introduction to Course
Lecture (check reading notes)
HW: Chapters 1 and 2, Reading Notes
HW: Interview someone who smokes, drinks excessively, has
unsafe sex, or is overweight
1/18
1/20
Small group discussion
Lecture (check reading notes)
HW: Chapter 3, Reading Notes
HW: Find, Read and Summarize and academic article
pertaining to minority health or the health of a special
population, such as the homeless or veterans
1/25
1/27
Small group discussion
Lecture/Discussion
HW: Chapter 4, Reading Notes
HW: Find statistics on the Internet about a disease/condition
that disproportionately affects developing countries
(eg. AIDS, malaria, conflict, natural disasters)
2/1
2/3
small group (statistics)
Discussion
HW: Chapter 5, article on Cultural Competence
HW: Cultural Competence Stories
2/8
2/10
small group
guest lecture
HW: Chapter 6
HW: Interview a handicapped person or someone with a
serious chronic illness
2/15
2/17
small group
lecture/discussion
HW: Chapter 7
HW: Watch and reflect on one of the following films:
A Beautiful Mind, Girl Interrupted, One Flew Over the
Cuckoo’s Nest, etc.
2/22
2/24
small group
discussion
HW: Chapter 8
HW: Interview someone involved in the health care system
(e.g. a provider, a human resource person, insurance company)
3/1
3/3
small group
midterm exam
3/8
3/9
guest lecture
“Health Care System in Mexico”
lecture
3/15
3/17
small group
lecture
SPRING BREAK
HW: Chapter 9
HW: Chapter 10
HW: Spend an hour in an ER, with a sick friend or relative in
a hospital, nursing home or hospice
HW: Chapter 11
3/29
3/31
film “The Making of a Doctor”
film (cont’d)
4/5
4/7
lecture
small group
4/12
4/14
guest lecture (midwife, curandera or acupuncturist)
film “Tuesdays With Morrie”
HW: Chapter 13
4/19
discussion
4/21
open
4/26
4/28
open
open
5/5
FINAL EXAM (10-12:45)
HW: relate film to Chapter 11, read Chapter 12
HW: interview a non-physician health care provider
HW: Choose a bioethics issue, and gather information about
it, take a position and defend it
READING LIST
MEDICAL SOCIOLOGY 3362
DR. CHERYL HOWARD
Life, Death, and In-Between on the U.S.-Mexico Border: Asi es la vida. Edited by Martha Oehmke
Loustaunau and Mary Sanchez-Bane
The Coming Plague, by Laurie Garrett
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, by Anne Fadiman
Who Gave the Pinta to the Santa Maria?, by Robert Desowitz
New Guinea Tapeworms and Jewish Grandmothers, by Robert Desowitz
Spontaneous Healing by Andrew Weil
Medicine Women, Curanderas, and Women Doctors, by Perrone, Stockel and Krueger
Healing and the Mind, by Bill Moyers
The Social Transformation of American Medicine, by Paul Starr.
My Own Country, by Abraham Verghese
And the Band Played On, by Randy Shilts
Mental Health and Social Policy (3rd ed.), by David Mechanic
The Role of Medicine: Dream, Mirage, or Nemesis?, by Thomas McKeown
Rachel and Her Children: Homeless Families in America, by Jonathan Kozol
Bad Blood: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment by James H. Jones