An Introduction to the Sociology of Health & Illness

by Kevin White

This is a new edition of the best-selling textbook for students in the Sociology of Health & Illness. The First Edition was widely praised for its clarity, accessibility, and comprehensive coverage. All of these features are retained in the new edition. The result is a book that academics and students in the sociology of health and illness will use as a ′first stop′ to study. Free of jargon, intuitive about student needs and well versed in course requirements, the new edition will refresh old readers and delight new ones.

Genres: Sociology

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Dr. Kevin White is a Reader in Sociology at the Australian National University. Kevin is a sociologist of health and illness, originally with interests in the history and philosophy of medicine. He also works on the political economy of health care systems, particularly examining the impact of privatisation on the health care system.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Outdated. Although published in 2014, it portrays Medicine as a means for Capitalism to enslave people by labeling them, as a tool for men to dominate and enslave women. While there have certainly been horrible examples of Medicine gone wrong (think Tuskeegee) or consciously used to suppress dissent (think Russians diagnosed with mental illness if they opposed Communism, back in the day), to paint all of Medicine with that brush, especially now that more than half of medical school graduates are women, seem unfair. There were some interesting parts about the medicalization of lives, and some philosophically interesting parts challenging that Medicine is not really an objective science like physics, but only a "soft" science, where the "knowledge" is twisted to meet the needs of the ruling class. There were also self-contradictions. In one chapter, cervical cancer screening is derided as a male-driven attempt to dominate and medicalize a woman's body. In another chapter, though, about race, the fact that in Australia aborigines are not screened for cervical cancer at near the frequency of white women, is derided as racist. Wouldn't that mean that at least aboriginal women were being spared the medicalization of their bodies?

[Saskia P · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was assigned for a class, but it was interesting nonetheless to learn about the medicalization of childbirth and the connection between social institutions, class, race, ability and health.