Module description
Health and disease are more than medical matters. They are shaped by social, cultural, political, and technological forces, and questions of health and disease are inextricably linked with questions of social inequality and social justice. The aim of this module is to introduce students to ways of thinking about the social and forms of stratification which are a key organising feature of social life and underlie social inequalities. By taking a critical view of systems of social stratification, their intersection with constitutions of the normal and pathological forms, health, illness and disease, and medicine, the course introduces students to the foundations of the domain of Social Medicine. Then taking an interlinked route into exploring health as a window into vital social and political questions, the course unpacks the impacts of intersecting inequalities, and engages with human experience and narratives for articulating larger social structures.
Assessment details
- 2 x Coursework Assessments
Educational aims & objectives
- To develop a conceptual understanding of social stratification, forms of social inequality and its intersections with medicine.
- To offer students a grounding in the historical emergence of and fundamental questions in the domain of Social Medicine.
- To interrogate conceptual categories underlying social medicine such as normal and pathological forms, health, illness, and disease. To provide empirical and analytical grounding in understanding structural inequalities in health and society.
- To spark curiosity and creativity as students develop insights into the social and cultural contexts of medicine, health, and disease.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module, students are expected to have acquired:
- Familiarity with historical emergence and fundamental questions and approaches in the domain of Social Medicine
- Familiarity with conceptual categories informing Social Medicine
- Understanding of forms of social stratification and how these contribute to social inequality and differentials in health and well-being
- An ability to engage critically with social structures, forms of social stratification and their intersections with health
- An appreciation of the complexity and density of social and medical entanglements, and the ability to imagine and bring change
Teaching pattern
One weekly two-hour lecture and one weekly one-hour seminar.