Recitation
Syllabus - Sociology 1022
Ethical and Social Issues
in Health and Medicine
Fall 2006
Section 011 – Wednesday,
8:00-8:50 AM – LIBR M300D
Section 012 – Wednesday,
10:00-10:50 AM – HUMN 186
Section 013 – Friday,
8:00-8:50 AM – DUAN G2B21
Section 014 – Friday,
1:00-1:50 PM – EKLC E1B75
Teaching Assistant: Jeff
Dennis
Office - Ketchum 8
The Course will
focus on health, ethical and medical issues from a sociological perspective. We
will discuss the distribution of health services and resources, ethical
decision-making, rights and responsibilities and gender and race issues in:
health care delivery systems, disease control, research, reproductive health,
birth and death issues, and legal and malpractice problems. The recitation will provide a setting to
discuss issues raised in the lectures and readings in an informed, thoughtful
manner.
There are no
reading assignments in addition to those assigned for the lecture. However, should articles or news reports
present themselves during the course of the semester, I reserve the right to assign additional reading.
Conrad, P.,
Editor, The Sociology of Health and
Illness, St.Martin’s Press, 7th Edition, 2001.
Mappes, T. and
D. DeGrazia. Biomedical Ethics.
McGraw/Hill, 6thh Edition, 2006.
Occasional E
reserve readings as indicated.
Recitation
constitutes 1/3 of your grade (200 points) for the course. These 200 points are based on your class
participation, attendance, weekly notes, and a short essay, broken down as
follows.
Class
participation – 50 points
Attendance – 50
points
Weekly notes – 70
points (5 points each)
Short Essay – 30
points
The standard CU
grade scale will apply.
If you have any
uncertainty related to assignments or don’t understand why you have received a
certain grade, you may visit me during office hours or schedule another time
for us to talk. However, be aware that I
will most likely NOT change any grades.
If you are uncertain of the parameters of course assignments, talk to me
before the assignment is due.
*Note: According to Sociology Department policy, no
more than 25% of students in a lower division course can receive “A”s. Thus, the grading of assignments will be
based of students’ work relative to others.
Every student is
expected to do all assigned readings prior to their recitation and participate
in class discussions. This course will
be primarily, if not entirely, discussion-based. I will pose questions, moderate/facilitate
discussions and clarify points from the reading on occasion, but students
should be prepared to participate. My
role in recitation is neither to provide answers nor explain “proper”
understanding of the issues we discuss; the class, through discussion, will be
the stimulus for unearthing the meaning and complexity of issues raised by the
text.
You are responsible for everything said
in recitations, including changes to assignments, so if you must miss, you
should contact a fellow student to get the information.
In order to
participate in discussion, students must be present in class. Students who miss three days lose 20 points,
four days – 30 points, five days – 40 points, and six days (or more) – 50
points. Excessive tardiness should be
avoided. Should this become a problem,
the doors will be locked after class begins.
If there are circumstances, (such as a class on the other side of campus
just before the recitation), that prevent you from making it to class on time,
I should be informed as soon as possible.
Starting the
second week of recitation, students will submit brief, weekly notes of the
assigned readings. The notes have no
specific format requirements; bullet points and outlines are sufficient. You should shoot for roughly a page. A third of these notes should be basic
summarization of the text’s assertions and the evidence provided to support its
claims. Another third should evaluate
the merit and validity of the arguments and discussions made in the text. The final third of the notes should be an
integration or assessment of the text relative to other readings, your life
experiences, or health and health care in general. I am providing a list of generic questions
that you may use to organize your notes.
I reserve the
right to change the topic/format of weekly assignments the week prior to when
they are due. I don’t intend to make
them more time consuming, but rather hope to match the assignment to the time
commitments required in the lecture section, i.e. tests, papers.
These
assignments aren’t meant to be laborious.
During your reading, allow enough time to engage with the reading and
evaluate the text. Assuming you do a
thoughtful, critical read of the text, the reading notes should take no longer
than 30 to 45 minutes. These notes
should be emailed to me (Jeffrey.dennis@colorado.edu)
by 2:00 pm on the day before your recitation.
Notes emailed after 2:30 will not be graded. You should bring your notes to recitation to
serve as your own personal reference during discussions.
One short essay
(2-3 pages) will be due this semester.
This essay will require students to identify a current health-related
issue and evaluate the exposition of this issue in the media, politics,
interest groups, etc. Remember that any
assertion you present should be defended, and an idea that isn’t yours should
be properly cited (according to ASA guidelines). I will give more guidelines, advice, etc.
later in the semester. There are no
requirements placed on the sources that you use. HOWEVER, be aware that you will be graded on
the quality of your evaluation, which will be undermined by too little evidence
(i.e. no support for your argument) or reliance on questionable sources. This assignment should be easy if you
consider that a) the media’s presentation of public discussions and political
discourse is often not complete and b) understand that research and arguments
by scholars and experts exist in more specialized journals. You will be welcome to turn in a draft of the
paper early to make sure you are on the right track, and to work through any
major problems.
If you qualify
for accommodations because of a disability, please submit to me a letter from
Disability Services in a timely manner so that your needs may be addressed.
Disability Services determines accommodations based on documented disabilities.
Contact: 303-492-8671, Willard Hall 322, and www.colorado.edu/disabilityservices.
Campus policy
regarding religious observances requires that faculty make every effort to
reasonably and fairly deal with all students who, because of religious
obligations, have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments or required
attendance. In this class, please inform me before the event or holiday and I will accommodate you. If you
inform me after the event or holiday, I will not accommodate you. Students can
see full details of this policy at www.colorado.edu/policies/fac_relig.html.
Students and
faculty each have a responsibility for maintaining an appropriate learning
environment. Students who fail to adhere to behavioral standards may be subject
to discipline. Faculty have the responsibility to treat students with
understanding, respect and dignity, to guide classroom discussion, and to set
reasonable limits on the manner in which students express opinions.
There are topics
in my classes that are controversial, medically oriented and occasionally
personal and graphic. Please understand
that my intent is to provide information, not to influence your opinions, or
make outrageous statements or assertions.
Every opinion is treated with respect and your right to hold that
opinion is protected.
If you are going
to be late with an assignment, absent for a test, or absent from a required
presentation or class you MUST inform me
prior to the event in question. This rule INCLUDES illness, deaths in the family, official university related
absences, and any other event. No exceptions.
All students of
the
a] cheating
b] plagiarism
(document sources very carefully and rigorously)
c] aiding others
in academic dishonesty,
d] fabrication
and lying,
e] bribery and
f] threatening
behavior.
All incidents of
academic misconduct will be reported to the Honor Code Council. If you are
found to be in violation of University policy, you will be subject to sanctions
from the instructor and the University including but not limited to probation,
expulsion, and suspension. The Honor code can be found at www.colorado.edu/policies/honor.html.
The
Class
Schedule
Week
1 Orientation and class
expectations
Critical Thinking Concepts (E
reserve)
Medical Ethics (Mappes 1-58)
2 Social Epidemiology
Conrad 7-55,
Mappes 628-644.
Week
3 Experience of Illness
Conrad 123-152,
Mappes 76-90 144-149 70-72.
4 Social Organization of Medicine
Conrad
167-230.
5 Medical Workers/Healthcare Industry
Conrad 231-287,
Mappes 170-192.
6 Death and Dying
Mappes 302-375,
417-444.
7 Research
Mappes
224-275.
8 Research II
Mappes
224-275.
9 Medicalization and Alternative
Care
Conrad 366-377,
472-481.
10 Abortion/Reproduction
Mappes 448-508,
521-532, 553-565.
11and 12 Genetics
Mappes 511-521, 577-612.
Vacation
13 Health Reform
Conrad 288-316,
Mappes 645-672, 620-624.
14 and 15 Comparative Health Systems
Conrad 496-536,
Mappes 624-627, 672-694.
Short essay for recitation due Thursday of Week 14 (details given in
class)
16 International Health