Life and Death by Design

In this course, we will study health differences between social groups. We will begin by examining the extent to which health is unevenly distributed across groups defined by nationality, neighborhood, race, gender, and class – differences highlighted in stark terms by the COVID-19 pandemic. We will then seek to pinpoint the reasons for these disparities with a detailed analysis of the pathways through which these factors are linked to health status. Finally, we will discuss new research on the sociology of population health that shows how health disparities depend on meso- and macro-scale causes like neighborhoods, social policy arrangements, global organizations, and climate change.
Course Notes: May be used as an introductory course when taken for letter grade, or elective.