Conceptions of health and illness, although not uniform the world over or even in any one society, are of fundamental importance in every society. How health is defined in various societies, how the ill are viewed by the well, how illness is treated, who the healers are, how they are trained, and what their position is in society, the relationships among the religion, class, gender and age of the ill and their healers, when and how public health policies are inaugurated are among the topics studied.

Basic Courses:
SOC 2 Social Problems and Public Policy
SOC 3 Deviance and Social Control
SOC 104 Sociology of Sex: Comparative Approach
SOC 118 Sociology of Bioethics
SOC 264 Poverty, Race and Health
SOC 273 Law, Medicine, and Public Policy
SOC 274 AIDS in Historical Perspective
SOC 275 Medical Sociology
SOC 334 Social Problems in Health and Medicine

Advanced Courses:
SOC 566 Sociology of Professions
SOC 572 Health Care and Social Policy
SOC 583 Sociology of Medicine
SOC 594 History of Population

Last Modified: 07-Nov-2003
For updates, comments please contact: saunderc@ssc.upenn.edu