Medical Sociology

Course Description: The field of medicine in the United States has a fraught history. It is, in part, an afterlife of slavery and colonialism. Medical training and clinical trials have been tested on the bodies of enslaved people, poor people, and women in U.S. territories. Black doctors were denied work and relegated as “quacks,” as the American Medical Association gained power and organized medical practice. Medical specialties became siloed, and now, we sit in a country where the provision of comprehensive medical care is thoroughly stratified. Almost one fifth of the U.S. GDP is spent on healthcare, yet many people remain underinsured or not insured at all. In this seminar we sift through rich historical, sociological, and anthropological research that surveys the field of medical sociology.

Medical sociology is one of the largest specializations within the discipline of sociology, meaning that while there is a vast literature to pull from, no one seminar can cover the field in its entirety. This seminar explores medical sociology as a subfield, selected subtopics within the field, and the history of medicine in America from a sociological perspective. Students are expected to help co-create lively in-class discussion while also thinking about creating their own quantitative or qualitative research project. Projects must focus on social problems within medicine or public health issues that can be properly diagnosed through the lens of medical sociology.

Offered in Fall 2026 at Southwestern University by the Department of Sociology and Anthropology.