SOC 477. SOCIOLOGY OF HEALTH, HEALING AND ILLNESS
Western New Mexico University
SOC 477/CRN 10700
Fall 2013
Tuesday and Thursday, 11:00-12:15 pm
Instructor: Dr. Liza Kuecker
Phone: 538-6204
Office: 202 GRC
Email: kueckerl@wnmu.edu
Office Hours: 11:00-12:00 Monday/ Wednesday/ Friday
9:30-10:30 Tuesday/Thursday, and by appointment.
Course Description. In this course we will examine the fields of health and medicine
from sociological perspectives. Topics include: the relationship between sociology and
health/healthcare, traditional healing, the rise of scientific medicine, social and physical
environmental impacts on health, healthcare providers and their relationships with
patients and with each other, health care policy, and issues in bioethics.
This course is designed as a Writing Intensive Course.
Course Readings.
Weiss, Gregory L. and Lynne. E. Lonnquist. 2012. The Sociology of Health, Healing and
Illness, 7e. Boston, MA: Prentice Hall.
Torres, Eliseo “Cheo”. 2005. Curandero: A Life in Mexican Folk Healing.
Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press.
Makary, Marty MD. 2012. Unaccountable: What Hospitals Won’t Tell You and How
Transparency Can Revolutionize Health Care. New York, NY: Bloomsbury Press.
Alvord, Lori Arviso, M.D. and Elizabeth Cohen Van Pelt 1999. The Scalpel and the
Silver Bear: The First Navajo Woman Surgeon Combines Western Medicine and
Traditional Healing. New York: Bantam Books.
Course Objectives. Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
1. explain how the application of sociological perspectives leads to greater
understanding of health, healing and illness.
2. describe how social forces promote patterns of health and illness.
3. compare and contrast the patterns of health and illness in developed nations with
those of developing nations.
4. identify all health care providers utilized by patients in the United States.
5. formulate solutions, or social policy recommendations to address the current
problems in health care delivery in the United States.
6. present critical analyses of the bioethical issues examined in this class.
Instructional Methods and Attendance Policy: In teaching this course, there will be
lecture, but more time will be devoted to class discussion. Come to class prepared to
discuss the assigned reading for that day. Attendance is important as the participation of
everyone is critical to the success of the course. You learn from the instructor and your
peers. Cell phones are to be off and put away during class. Lecture will include
material that will supplement the reading, so it is important to take notes. If you miss a
class, it is your responsibility to get copies of handouts and lecture notes. You are
permitted a maximum of three absences, for whatever reason. More than three absences
may result in being dropped from the class.
Communication Policy Statement Regarding Official Email: WNMU’s policy
requires that all official communication-including changes in assignments and gradeswill be sent to your wnmu.edu email address. It is very important that you access your
Mustang Express email periodically to check correspondence from the University. If you
receive most of your email at a different address, you can forward your messages
from Mustang Express to your other address.
Disability Services at Western New Mexico University: Services for students with
disabilities are provided through the Disability Services Office, located in the Juan
Chacon Building. Some examples of the assistance provided are: audio materials for the
blind or dyslexic, note takers, readers, campus guides, audio recorders, a quiet testing
area, and undergraduate academic tutors. In order to qualify for these services,
documentation must be provided by qualified professionals on an annual basis, Disability
Services forms are available in the Academic Support Center. The Disability Services
Office, in conjunction with the Academic Support Center, serves as Western New
Mexico University’s liaison for students with disabilities. The Disability Services Office
can be contacted by phone at 575.538.6400 or email at atdss@wnmu.edu.
Evaluation Criteria:
Two essay examinations, take home format. 50%
Two book critiques
30%
Disability project
10%
Attendance and participation
10%
The exams, book critiques and other course assignments are due on the dates
specified. I will not accept late work unless there are extenuating circumstances.
Grading Scale: Students who earn 90% of the total possible points will receive the
grade of “A”; 80% of total possible points will earn a “B”. 70% a “C” and so forth.
Academic Integrity Policy and Procedures: Each student shall observe standards of
honesty and integrity in academic work as defined in the WNMU catalog. Violations of
academic integrity include “any behavior that misrepresents or falsifies a student’s
knowledge, skills or ability with the goal of unjustified or illegitimate evaluation or gain”
(WNMU Faculty Handbook, 2008). Generally violations of the academic integrity
include cheating and plagiarism. Refer to the Student Catalog pages 60-61 for
definitions. Any cheating or plagiarism on course requirements will result in a 0 for that
particular assignment.
Course Outline. I reserve the right to amend the course schedule to meet the needs of
the class.
Week One
August 20-22
Introduction to the Course: What is Medical Sociology?
The Development of Scientific Medicine
Weiss and Lonnquist, Chapters 1-2
Week Two
August 27-29
Social Epidemiology
Society, Disease and Illness
Weiss and Lonnquist, Chapters 3-4
Video: AIDs in Africa
Week Three
September 3-5
The Social Distribution of Illness in the United States
Readings: TBA
Week 4
September 10-12
Social Stress-Are You Experiencing It?
Weiss and Lonnquist, Chapter 5
Week 5
September 17-19
Health Behavior and Risk Taking Behavior
Weiss and Lonnquist, Chapter 6
Week 6
September 24-26
Experiencing Illness and Disabilities
Weiss and Lonnquist Chapter 7
The Disability Project
Week 7
October 1-3
Sociology of Mental Illness
Video: The Medicated Child
Exam #1. Distributed and explained on Thursday, October 3.
Week 8
October 8-10
Physicians and the Profession of Medicine
Weiss and Lonnquist, Chapters 8,12
Also, be reading The Scalpel and the Silver Bear
Exam #1. Due on Thursday, October 10
Week 9
October 15-17
Medical Education and the Socialization of Physicians
Weiss and Lonnquist, Chapter 9
Discussion of The Scalpel and the Silver Bear
Book Critique Due: Thursday, October 17.
Week 10
October 22-24
Nurses, Mid-level Health Care Practitioners and Allied Health Workers
Weiss and Lonnquist, Chapter 10
Also, be reading Curandero: A Life in Mexican Folk Healing
Week 11
October 29-31
Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Weiss and Lonnquist, Chapter 11
Discussion of Curandero: A Life in Mexican Folk Healing
Book Critique Due: Thursday, October 31.
Weeks 12-13
November 5-14
The Health Care System in the United States Health Care Delivery
Chapters 14,15
Also be reading Unaccountable: What Hospitals Won’t Tell You and How Transparency
Can Revolutionize Health Care.
Book Critique Due: Thursday 19.
Week 14
November 19-21
What Can We Learn From Health Care Systems in Other Countries?
Weiss and Lonnquist, Chapter 17
Video: Sick Around the World
Week 15
November 26-28
Thanksgiving Recess: No Classes This Week.
Week 16
December 2-6
Bioethics and the Social Implications of Advanced Health Care Technology
Weiss and Lonnquist, Chapters 13, 16.
Exam #2. Distributed and explained on Tuesday, December 2.
Final Exam Time: Wednesday, December 11th at 10 am.