SOC239H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Social Class, Social Constructionism, The Sociological Imagination
24 Apr 2016
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Lecture 1: study of the sociology of health and illness. Physical health is consistent, but mental health constantly changes. Aboriginals in canada live at a much worse quality of life than other canadians. Study people"s experiences with health, illness, and health care systems instead of biological bases of illness. How illness affects identity, relationships, people"s conception of causes. C. wright mills" sociological imagination: private troubles reflect bigger social issues: peter berger explained that sociologists see the general in particular and at the same time strange in the familiar . Disease: the biological condition; illness: the social meaning of the condition. According to the medical model, diseases are universal and invariant to time/space. Social constructionists say cultural/social systems shape meaning/experience of illness. Illnesses don"t naturally exist; diseases or biological qualifiers often socially constructed. Based on belief illness/disease is biological condition occurs exclusively in human body: one needs to look no further than the individual to determine causes or cure.
