The Sociology of Health
maximum answer length of 1000 words per question.
Discuss the role of history in contemporary social constructions of health and illness.
Debate society’s role in the construction of public notions of health and illness through a consideration of the complexities of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Assess the role of sociological theory in contemporary understandings of health.
CW Mills argued that we can understand public issues of structure and history by looking at personal problems of biography. Using this method (known as the ‘sociological imagination’), reflect upon a contemporary health-related issue.
Are our opportunities for access to health and wellbeing dependent upon our class, gender, or ethnicity? Discuss the role of social inequality in health and illness.
Attitudes towards the body, health and wellbeing are subjective, and constructed from within social organisation and structure. Discuss the influence of such attitudes as constructed by ethnicity/race or gender/sexuality.
Evaluate the concept of ‘medicalisation’ and the importance of sociological perspectives on health, illness and well-being.
Critically discuss the role of professionalisation in healthcare relationships. Might an increase in the delivery of healthcare services in community settings promote more personalised and equitable care?
(1000 word per question)