HLST 1010 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Talcott Parsons, Symbolic Interactionism, Medicalization

• School: York University
• Department: Health Studies
• Course: HLST 1010
• Professor: Professor Kenneth Lam

Document Summary

Lecture 4: concepts of health, illness, and health care ii. Sociology in medicine: application of sociological theory or concepts to explain health-related issues, inform public health policy, sociology in: medically-oriented. Sociology of medicine: understanding of sociological concepts via the lens of, health problems, medical settings or organization of health care, application of critical approaches (weber, Marx, feminism, anti-racism, and/or postmodern, etc. : sociology of: broader societal perspectives. Limitations of structural functionalism: parson"s conceptualization is most appropriate for acute conditions rather than chronic conditions and disabilities, limited application, emphasized the dominance of physician and submissiveness of patient to medical intervention. The social construction of reality: individuals create knowledge which is geared toward particular practical issues or problems, issues are interpreted as problematic, we create facts through social interaction. Symbolic interactionism and social constructionism: shortcomings: limitations, subjective/micro-level analysis--does not help understand the broader societal context, descriptive rather than explanatory in orientation.