Description
Book SynopsisAn accessible and highly readable introduction to the Sociology of Health and Illness through the inclusion of key theorists, concepts, and theories, with reference to contemporary health concerns and recent relevant research.
- Kylie Baldwin, De Montfort University
Guides us through the many reasons for the centrality of health, showing clearly that health and illness are the products not just of our biology but of the society into which we are born...an authoritative analysis of the social nature of health. -
Ray Fitzpatrick, University of OxfordThis bestselling text introduces students to the core principles of the sociology of health, demonstrating the relationship between social structures and the production and distribution of health and disease in modern society. Written with a truly sociological and critical perspective, the booktackles themessuch asclass, gender and ethnicity, and engages witha range of theories and theorist
Trade ReviewPraise for second edition:
Kevin White guides us through the many reasons for the centrality of health showing clearly that health and illness are the products not just of our biology but of the society into which we are born. He expertly draws on the works of Parsons, Marx, Foucault and feminist writers to provide an authoritative analysis of the social nature of health.
-- Ray Fitzpatrick
This book provides an accessible and highly readable introduction to the Sociology of Health and Illness through the inclusion of key theorists, concepts, and theories with reference to contemporary health concerns and recent relevant research. I would recommend this book to students on Public Health, Epidemiology, Health Studies and Sociology programmes.
-- Kylie Baldwin
In the modern world the causes and consequences of illness have become increasingly complex and contested with corresponding changes in health-care delivery and the training of medical professionals. In this heavily revised third edition, Kevin White provides an assured and comprehensive overview of the sociological study of health and illness. Less an Introduction and more a Cornucopia covering sociological perspectives as well as debates about and commentaries on developments in medical knowledge, disease, treatment and medical institutions.
Essential reading for both students and scholars.
-- Bryan Turner
Table of ContentsIntroduction The Social Construction of Medical Knowledge The Development of the Sociology of Health Postmodernity, Epidemiology and Neo-Liberalism Materialist Approaches to the Sociology of Health Parson, American Sociology of Medicine and the Sick Role Foucault and the Sociology of Medical Knowledge Health, Gender and Feminism Race, Ethnicity and Health Conclusion
