Critical Studies in Medicine and Psychiatry

3 credits · Undergraduate

(3 hrs Lecture) This course provides a sociological approach to understanding the power of medicine and psychiatry in modern society. Topics include cross-cultural differences in conceptions of normal and abnormal, the social history of psychiatric institutions, gender and mental health, social factors contributing to mental and emotional problems, suicide, the experience of psychiatric survivors and patients, the mental health crisis of prisoners, the social construction of mental pathology, the organization and effectiveness of treatment programs, human rights and psychiatric abuses, and the psychopharmaceutical industry. Requisite Courses: SOC-1100 or SOC-1101 [prerequisite(s)].