This course introduces students to sociological perspectives on health, illness, and medicine. It explores the social, political, cultural, and economic forces that shape contemporary medicine and experiences of health. Using a range of theoretical approaches, the course will examine case studies related to the illness experience, health inequalities, biomedical knowledge and practices, and the impact of medical technologies.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- apply key sociological concepts to explain the social distribution of health, healthcare, and disease
- analyse disease and illness experiences using a variety of social theories;
- evaluate the impact of biomedicine on identity and embodiment;
- communicate the sociological analysis of health and illness to non-sociological audiences; and
- reflect on their learning in relation to the content of the course.
Indicative Assessment
- Learning journal (8x 200 words over the semester) (30) [LO 5]
- Podcast (group task with individual written elements, 1500 words) (35) [LO 4]
- Essay (2000 words) (35) [LO 1,2,3]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
130 hours of total student learning time made up from:a) 36 hours of contact over 12 weeks: 24 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials; and
b) 94 hours of independent student research, reading, and writing.
Inherent Requirements
Not applicable
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
Not applicable
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 14
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2022 | $3840 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2022 | $4980 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.