SOCY : The Social Construction of Health and Illness Fall 2016

Transcription

1 SOCY : The Social Construction of Health and Illness Fall 2016 Monday/Wednesday/Friday 2:00 2:50 pm Stokes Hall 103S Professor: Sara Moorman Office: 404 McGuinn Hall Office hours: Wednesdays 10:30-11:30, Thursdays 2:00-3:00, and by appointment Course Description What is the difference between a sick cow and a sick human? In some respects, very little: Both experience disease and injury, symptoms and side effects, and pain and suffering. Yet cows never judge other cows for getting sick, or claim that they are feigning sickness, or argue that they should be doing more to get well. These and other social responses are all uniquely human. Through social theory, contemporary media, personal essays and memoirs, and fiction and literature, we ll explore the varied meanings human societies have overlaid on the experience of health and illness over time and across cultures. About the Course in the Core Curriculum Enduring Questions courses are paired freshman courses taught across two disciplines that highlight issues fundamental to scholarly inquiry. This pair of courses focuses on questions concerning health and illness, and how scholars of literature and of sociology approach those questions. By the end of the semester, students will be able to compare and contrast how scholars in the two disciplines conceive of, research, and answer vital questions concerning the ill or injured person in society. Further, students will be able to employ the scholarly methods of literature and sociology as novice practitioners. Required Books The bookstore has ordered: Fadiman, Ann The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. (ISBN ) Goffman, Erving Stigma. (ISBN ) Grealy, Lucy Autobiography of a Face. (ISBN ) Reid, T. R The Healing of America. (ISBN ) Watters, Ethan Crazy Like Us. (ISBN ) These books are also available on 2-hour reserve at O Neill Library. If you need support to buy books, please contact the Montserrat Coalition go to Brock House at 78 College Road, call , or Paula Dias at paula.dias@bc.edu.

2 SOCY1703 The Social Construction of Health and Illness Page 2 of 7 Electronic Reserve Readings marked with an asterisk (*) are available through the BC library website. From the library home page, there s a link at the top of the page, right-hand side, to Course Reserves. Alternately, there s a quick link to the same place from the course Canvas page. Readings are in.pdf format and can be read online, saved to your computer, and/or printed. Canvas Visit the Canvas page for this course regularly for announcements, grades, course materials, a copy of the syllabus, etc. I promise you that everything you ve ever needed (or wanted) to know about this course is posted, so look before you . If you me and don t get an answer within 48 hours, it s because you don t need me to tell you the answer to your question. Schedule August 29 How does the study of sociology contribute to the study of health and illness? August 31 *Miner, Body Ritual among the Nacirema *Keating, If It Happened There Strange in the familiar September 1: Evening Session 1: Movie (Stokes 103S) September 2 *Smart, The Power of Models Personal troubles vs. public issues September 5 Labor Day No Class September 7 September 9 September 12 September 14 What kinds of pre-existing beliefs do we bring to the study of illness? *Gladwell, The Matthew Effect Biography in history *Parsons, Social Structure and Dynamic Process Sick role *Rosenhan, On Being Sane in Insane Places *Dumit, Illnesses You Have to Fight to Get

3 SOCY1703 The Social Construction of Health and Illness Page 3 of 7 September 16 Is health care a right or a privilege? Reid prologue, chapters 1 & 2 September 19 Reid chapters 3 & 4 September 21 Reid chapters 5 & 6 September 23 Reid chapters 7 & 8 September 26 Reid chapters 9 & 10 September 28 Reid chapters 11 & 12 September 30 October 3 How do understandings of health and illness change over time and place? Reid chapter 13, afterword, appendix Watters introduction & chapter 1 October 5 Watters chapters 2 & 3 October 7 Watters chapter 4 & conclusion October 10 Columbus Day No Class October 12 October 14 October 17 *Timmermans, Patients-in-Waiting *Kaufman, In the Shadow *Fox & Swazey, Organ Transplantation *Fox & Swazey, Alterations October 19 *Barnet, chapters 3-5, Writing about Art October 20: Evening Session 2: Museum of Fine Arts October 21 How do people experience visible and invisible illnesses in public and private? Goffman chapter 1 Grealy prologue, chapters 1-3

4 SOCY1703 The Social Construction of Health and Illness Page 4 of 7 October 24 Goffman chapter 2 Grealy chapters 4-6 October 26 Goffman chapter 3 Grealy chapters 7-9 October 28 Goffman chapters 4 & 5 Grealy chapters 10-12, afterword October 31 What is the culture of biomedicine? Fadiman prologue, chapters 1-4 November 2 Fadiman chapters 5-7 November 3: Evening Session 3: Park Street Lecture Series November 4 Fadiman chapters 8-10 November 7 Fadiman chapters November 9 Fadiman chapters November 11 No Class Instead, I ll be joining you on Nov. 10 in Prof. Boesky s class for a joint session on Grealy November 14 Fadiman chapters November 16 November 18 November 21 What kinds of problems are within the scope of medicine? *Smith, Managing Emotions in Medical School Henslin & Biggs, Behavior in Pubic Places: The Sociology of the Vaginal Exam *Conrad, Expansion *Berck, Is It Old Age? November 23 Thanksgiving break No Class

5 SOCY1703 The Social Construction of Health and Illness Page 5 of 7 November 25 Thanksgiving break No Class November 28 November 30 December 2 December 5 *Medeiros, Is Being Short a Disability? *Conrad, Continuity *Watkins, Medicalization of Male Menopause *Conrad & Schneider, Opiate Addiction December 7 Presentations December 1: Evening Session 4: Dinner at Amy Boesky s House December 9 Presentations Academic Honesty Your work must be your words and ideas. When writing papers, use quotation marks around someone else s exact words and identify whose words they are. If you come across a good idea, by all means use it in your writing, but be sure to acknowledge whose idea it is. Failure to comply will result in (a) automatic failure of the assignment, and (b) a report to the Dean and the Committee on Academic Integrity. For further information, please review the College s policies on academic integrity here: Accommodations If you are a student with a documented disability seeking reasonable accommodations in this course, please contact Kathy Duggan, (617) , dugganka@bc.edu, at the Connors Family Learning Center regarding learning disabilities and ADHD, or Paulette Durrett, (617) , paulette.durrett@bc.edu, in the Disability Services Office regarding all other types of disabilities, including temporary disabilities. Advance notice and appropriate documentation are required for accommodations.

6 SOCY1703 The Social Construction of Health and Illness Page 6 of 7 Assessment Grading scale A+ none at Boston College A % A % B % B 83 86% B % C % C 73 76% C % D % D 63 66% D % F below 60% Assignments Task Percentage of grade Due date Participation 10% Throughout Strange in the familiar 10% September 19 Health care policy op-ed 10% October 5 Health technology 10% October 24 Grealy as sociology 25% November 10 Culture of biomedicine 10% November 21 Interest group final project 25% December 9 (This assignment only graded joint with ENGL 1705) Participation: Many of our readings will provoke opportunities for discussion and debate in class. Always come to class having done the reading and considered the thought questions posted on Canvas, such that you re prepared to be an active participant. Nobody likes a freeloader: People who let other people do all the work lose participation credit. But professor, I have to miss class for a game / doctor s appointment / job interview! Part of adulting is managing your own calendar. You ve committed to this class, which means that it s your job to get yourself to it as often as possible. Some days something else will be of higher priority, and you won t come to class. But not even a legitimate reason for absence constitutes a pass out of your commitment to this class. Maybe that means that you contribute more on the days when you are in class. Maybe that means that you your thoughts on the reading to me and to the class or to your group members ahead of time so that we can include your ideas. Whatever you do, it s your responsibility to (a) come up with a creative solution, and (b) get my agreement that your solution fulfills your obligation. If you do not compensate for absences, you will lose credit. For details on the other tasks, see the handouts.

7 SOCY1703 The Social Construction of Health and Illness Page 7 of 7 Paper Submission All papers are to be uploaded to Canvas by 11:59 pm Eastern time on the due date. I do not accept papers in hard copy or via . Papers submitted after 11:59 pm on the due date are late and will lose a letter grade a day. That is, a paper submitted on time is worth, at best, an A. A paper submitted between midnight and 11:59 pm of the day following the due date is worth, at best, a B. If you wish to avoid the late penalty, you must make arrangements with me in advance, or you must provide proof of extenuating circumstances (e.g., doctor s note, funeral program) or a letter from your class dean. Do not ask me for personal extensions unless you have a very good reason. There are very few good reasons. Good reasons do NOT include: I have four tests that day! or It s my birthday next weekend! or My computer is broken! Always plan ahead, and keep a backup. Extra Credit Any extra credit opportunities will be made available to the entire class, and will be announced both in class and on Canvas.