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Sep 20, 2026
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Undergraduate Catalog 2026-2027
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SOC 209 Medical Sociology Credits: (3)
This course presents a conceptual overview of medical sociology, also referred to as public health or the sociology of health and illness. Students examine a variety of social and cultural forces that affect illness, disparities in health, and access to healthcare. Students learn the major concepts, methods, and theories that medical social scientists use to understand public trends and topics in health, illness, and medicine. Furthermore, students will examine various medical topics from sociological and cross-cultural perspectives, including but not limited to medical ethics, death and dying processes, the work environments and careers of health professionals, the commodification of illness, healthcare systems and reform, and the intersection of inequalities as they relate to health, illness, and access to healthcare.
SUNY Gen Ed Area(s): DEISJ, Social Sciences
Designation(s): Liberal Arts
Learning Outcomes
- Demonstrate knowledge of the social, economic and cultural forces that affect health and illness-related phenomena in society.
- Contrast historical, cross-cultural and contemporary meanings of illness and responses to illness.
- Apply sociological theories and approaches to understand the social production and distribution of health and illness.
- Analyze how gender, race, ethnicity, social class and other social inequalities influence illness, health and access to health care.
- Demonstrate comprehension of the health care system in the United States and be able to compare and contrast its hallmarks with those of other nations.
- Demonstrate knowledge of how culture impacts the perceptions of healthcare and patient-doctor relations.
- Contrast historical, cross-cultural and contemporary perspectives on death and dying.
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