Summary
Contents
Subject index
Sharp, bold and engaging, this book provides a contemporary account of why medical sociology matters in our modern society.
Combining theoretical and empirical perspectives, and applying the pragmatic demands of policy, this timely book explores society's response to key issues such as race, gender and identity to explain the relationship between sociology, medicine and medical sociology.
Each chapter includes an authoritative introduction to pertinent areas of debate, a clear summary of key issues and themes and dedicated bibliography.
Chapters include: social theory and medical sociology; health inequalities; bodies, pain and suffering personal, local and global.
Brimming with fresh interpretations and critical insights this book will contribute to illuminating the practical realities of medical sociology.
This exciting text will be of interest to students of sociology of health and illness, medical sociology, and sociology of the body.
Bodies, Pain and Suffering
Bodies, Pain and Suffering
Introduction
So far, this book has considered health inequalities as a theoretical and empirical problem and as a matter of social justice. Tabulated mortality figures show how poor living conditions, including low income, are associated with premature death. Variable rates of morbidity and mortality are summary measures of the embodiment of political, economic and social conditions and while they represent illness and death, they do not speak of the loss and pain of the bodies themselves. Health inequalities research has been of progressive intent, seeking to reduce the excess rates of morbidity and mortality suffered by marginalized groups. However, a representation of death or illness that elides the suffering of individual bodies, failing to bear witness to their pain, ...
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