Description
Book SynopsisSociological Theories of Health and Illness reviews the evolution of theory in medical sociology beginning with the field's origins in medicine and extending to its present-day standing as a major sociological subdiscipline. Sociological theory has an especially important role in the practice of medical sociology because its theories distinguish the subdiscipline from virtually all other scientific fields engaged in the study of health and illness. The focus is on contemporary theory because it applies to contemporary conditions; however, since theory in sociology is often grounded in historical precedents and classical foundations, this material is likewise included as it relates to medical sociology today.
This book focuses on the most commonly used sociological theories in the study of health and illness, illustrating their utility in current examples of empirical research on a wide range of topics. The qualitative or quantitative research methods applicabl
Table of Contents
Contents
1. Medical Sociology and Sociological Theory
2. The Origin of Medical Sociology
3. Medical Sociology and the Rise of Theory
4. Classical Theory and Its Legacies: Durkheim and Weber
5. Classical Theory and Its Legacies: Marx
6. Symbolic Interaction and Labeling Theory
7. French Structuralism, Poststructuralism, and Postmodernism
8. The Stress Process
9. The Social Construction of Gender and Race
10. Health Lifestyle Theory
11. Life Course Theory
12. Fundamental Cause Theory
13. The Medical Profession and Medicalization
14. Theories of Social Capital
