SOC239H5 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Social Forces, Critical Race Theory, Symbolic Interactionism
24 Apr 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Chapter 1: introduction to the sociology of health, illness, and health care. Medical model of illness: belief that illness is a biological condition that occurs exclusively within body; don"t need to look past individual to determine cause and cure. Operating assumptions: biological reductionism: illness is an objective biological condition, doctrine of specific etiology: for every disease, there is a specific cause. Medical model individualizes (focus on individual) and depoliticize (minimizing social context) the problem of illness. Sociological approach: focuses on social patterns rather than on individual behaviors. Power: ability to get others to do what one wants, whether willingly or unwillingly: sociological approach would look at power difference in patient/doctor, etc. Those who focus on the sources, nature, and consequences of power relationships use a critical approach, recognizing that sex, age, ethnicity, and sexuality determine power. Critical sociologists raise questions about how power affects health and how social institutions and popular beliefs can reflect/reinforce existing distribution of power.
