CQUniversity Unit Profile
SOCL19070 Health and Medical Sociology
Health and Medical Sociology
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The information will not be changed unless absolutely necessary and any change will be clearly indicated by an approved correction included in the profile.
General Information

Overview

Employing the concepts and theories of contemporary social theorists, this unit analyses the medical model of health - both historically and comparatively. Topics covered include the reasons for the expansion of western medicine or medicalisation of society, the body and mind distinction in medical science - its consequences for health, the professionalisation of medicine, and the political economy of medicine.

Details

Career Level: Undergraduate
Unit Level: Level 2
Credit Points: 6
Student Contribution Band: 10
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load: 0.125

Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Student to have completed 36 credit points

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Offerings For Term 1 - 2017

Distance

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Website

This unit has a website, within the Moodle system, which is available two weeks before the start of term. It is important that you visit your Moodle site throughout the term. Please visit Moodle for more information.

Class and Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Class Timetable

Regional Campuses
Bundaberg, Cairns, Emerald, Gladstone, Mackay, Rockhampton, Townsville
Metropolitan Campuses
Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney

Assessment Overview

1. Written Assessment
Weighting: 30%
2. Written Assessment
Weighting: 40%
3. Online Quiz(zes)
Weighting: 30%

Assessment Grading

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.

CQUniversity Policies

All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.

You may wish to view these policies:


This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.

Previous Student Feedback

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Feedback from Course Evaluation

Feedback

Additional sociological readings with the course textbook to help students better understand the sociological perspective.

Recommendation

Additional sociological resources will be provided to help students, especially those who are new to sociology.

Action

Introductory sociology materials were provided to students on the Moodle page and students were also encouraged to use a Sociology Dictionary (online or hard copy) to assist with famiiarising themselves with key concepts. Continued efforts will be made to add to these resources and to help students engage with a sociological perspective through group activities in Zoom online tutorials.

Feedback from Course Evaluation

Feedback

The course study guide covering the 12 weeks of the course is a valuable resource.

Recommendation

The study guide will be retained and updated to assist students with their learning and sourcing of additional resources.

Action

The study guide will be used and updated to reflect changes in the sequence of the topic offerings and the content. Additional sections will be added to this document to support the online tutorials and facilitated better interaction between the students online.

Feedback from Course Evaluation

Feedback

Shorter lectures.

Recommendation

The lectures will be revised to reduce the length.

Action

New lectures were recorded, but further work needs to be undertaken to present lectures in 2-3 short videos of 10 minutes. Other methods to disseminate the unit content to students will be explored.

Feedback from Email

Feedback

Collaborate session helpful when preparing for the assessments.

Recommendation

Blackboard Collaborate and online chat sessions will continue to be offered to students.

Action

Zoom online tutorial sessions will be offered to the students along with the option to discuss assignments with the unit coordinator in a number of drop-in half hour online Zoom sessions offered in the weeks leading up to the due dates of the assessment. Offering a number of short sessions at different times during the week may better suit and support students managing work, family and other study commitments.

Unit Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
  1. understand and articulate explanations of the medicalisation of society
  2. describe the consequences for health of medical dominance
  3. explain the sociological meanings of body, health and illness
Alignment of Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Graduate Attributes
N/A Level
Introductory Level
Intermediate Level
Graduate Level
Professional Level
Advanced Level

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes

Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3
1 - Written Assessment - 30%
2 - Written Assessment - 40%
3 - Online Quiz(zes) - 30%

Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes

Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3
1 - Communication
2 - Problem Solving
3 - Critical Thinking
4 - Information Literacy
5 - Team Work
6 - Information Technology Competence
7 - Cross Cultural Competence
8 - Ethical practice
9 - Social Innovation
10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes

Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 - Written Assessment - 30%
2 - Written Assessment - 40%
3 - Online Quiz(zes) - 30%
Textbooks and Resources

Textbooks

Prescribed

Second opinion: An introduction to health sociology

Edition: 5th edn (2013)
Authors: Germov, J (ed)
Oxford University Press
South Melbourne South Melbourne , Vic , Australia
ISBN: 9780195520149
Binding: Paperback

Additional Textbook Information


View textbooks at the CQUniversity Bookshop

IT Resources

You will need access to the following IT resources:
  • CQUniversity Student Email
  • Internet
  • Unit Website (Moodle)
Referencing Style

All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Harvard (author-date)

For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.

Teaching Contacts
Susan Rockloff Unit Coordinator
s.rockloff@cqu.edu.au
Schedule
Week 1 Begin Date: 06 Mar 2017

Module/Topic

A sociological perspective AND The models of health, illness & wellness

Chapter

Germov Ch.1 & 3, & pp. 164-167

Willis (2011) - CRO

Details of all prescribed readings are also on Moodle.

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 2 Begin Date: 13 Mar 2017

Module/Topic

History of medicine AND Economic interests & power in health care

Chapter

Willis (1989) - CRO

Germov pp. 288-292 & pp. 370-380

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 3 Begin Date: 20 Mar 2017

Module/Topic

Theorising health - social, economic & political

Chapter

Germov Ch.2 & pp. 171-172

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 4 Begin Date: 27 Mar 2017

Module/Topic

Medical dominance in health care & the challenges

Chapter

Germov Ch.20 & 22

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 5 Begin Date: 03 Apr 2017

Module/Topic

Professionalisation & the division of labour

Chapter

Germov Ch.23`

Willis (1994) - CRO

Events and Submissions/Topic

Portfolio (1,500 words) Due: Week 5 Friday (7 Apr 2017) 11:45 pm AEST
Vacation Week Begin Date: 10 Apr 2017

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 6 Begin Date: 17 Apr 2017

Module/Topic

Doctor - patient interaction AND the 'Sick Role' (Parsons' theory)

Chapter

Freund, McGuire & Podhurst (2003) Ch.10 - CRO

Germov pp. 26-27 & 226-227

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 7 Begin Date: 24 Apr 2017

Module/Topic

Medicalisation in society & of deviance

Chapter

Germov Ch. 12

Busfield (2017) e-journal

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 8 Begin Date: 01 May 2017

Module/Topic

The social meanings of the body & illness

Chapter

Lupton (1994) - CRO

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 9 Begin Date: 08 May 2017

Module/Topic

Goffman's Theory of stigmatisation & labelling of illness & bodies

Chapter

Germov pp. 256-257, 271-272 & 285-285

Williams (1987) - CRO

Alonzo & Reynolds (1995) e-journal

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 10 Begin Date: 15 May 2017

Module/Topic

The post-modern theory of power/knowledge & the body

Chapter

White (2009) - CRO

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 11 Begin Date: 22 May 2017

Module/Topic

Chronic illness & the ageing body in society

Chapter

Germov Ch.14 & 16

Events and Submissions/Topic

Essay (2,000 words) Due: Week 11 Monday (22 May 2017) 11:45 pm AEST
Week 12 Begin Date: 29 May 2017

Module/Topic

Sociological insights on death & dying

Chapter

Walter (2012) e-journal

Events and Submissions/Topic

Online Quiz Due: Week 12 Friday (2 June 2017) 10:00 pm AEST
Review/Exam Week Begin Date: 05 Jun 2017

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Exam Week Begin Date: 12 Jun 2017

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Term Specific Information

To be eligible to pass this unit all assessment items must be submitted for marking.

Assessment Tasks

1 Written Assessment

Assessment Title
Portfolio (1,500 words)
Task Description

Task: Each student is required to answer three (3) questions, each of 500 words in length. Students are required to use the portfolio template available on Moodle for their answers and references. A list of questions can be found on Moodle in the Assessment block. Each answer needs to: 1) address the question, 2) use relevant sociological concepts, 3) reference sociological literature, 4) show understanding of issues and key concepts, and 5) show evidence of critical thinking.
Aim: The aim of this assessment is for students to demonstrate learning outcomes and facilitate online discussion and interaction amongst other students in order to expand their knowledge and learn from their peers. Students can also receive guidance and input from the unit coordinator on their sociological thinking and academic writing style prior to submission of the assessment. Students are asked not to post drafts of their work to the discussion forum but to bring ideas, examples and questions.
NOTE: Use of sociological references to inform your answers is essential and failure to adhere to this requirement will result in an automatic FAIL grade (zero marks) for the assessment. Students must use the Harvard (author-date) referencing style (see the Harvard (author-date) style guide in the Assessment block).
The total word length for the portfolio is 1,500 words (+/- 10% of the word count). The word count excludes references and direct quotes.
Please take time prior to the due date to discuss your question selection and the key points covered in the answers with your unit coordinator.

Assessment Due Date

Week 5 Friday (7 Apr 2017) 11:45 pm AEST

Return Date to Students

Week 6 Friday (21 Apr 2017)

Weighting
30%
Assessment Criteria

The Assessment Criteria are the same for Assessment 1 & 2. Please see the criteria given with Assessment 2 below.

Referencing Style
Submission
Online
Submission Instructions
Students must submit their assignment as a Word file to enable marking and comments to be added.
Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • understand and articulate explanations of the medicalisation of society
  • describe the consequences for health of medical dominance
  • explain the sociological meanings of body, health and illness

Graduate Attributes
  • Communication
  • Critical Thinking
  • Information Literacy
  • Information Technology Competence
  • Cross Cultural Competence
  • Ethical practice

2 Written Assessment

Assessment Title
Essay (2,000 words)
Task Description

Task: Choose one (1) of the following topics and then conduct a literature search to identify suitable sources to inform your understanding of the topic and writing of the essay. You are expected to utilise the electronic databases available through the library website to access peer-reviewed sociology journal articles and newspaper articles. Other sources of use include government reports and good (reputable) internet sites.
The word limit is 2,000 words (+/- 10%) (word count excludes the reference list and direct quotes)
1) How are society’s meanings about the body, health and death constructed and expressed in dominant discourses in contemporary society? What are the implications for these social constructions for power and knowledge?
2) How does the medical profession exert control over other professions in the heath care system to maintain dominance? How is this medical dominance challenged? What are the consequences for health care consumers?
3) Many of life's phenomenon and social problems are medicalised (e.g., alcoholism, pregnancy, sleep, drug addiction, body dysmorphic disorder). Discuss this statement using examples and explain what implications this has had for the health care system and society.
4) How do political, economic and socio-cultural factors shape the definitions of disease in society? Where possible use examples and theory to inform and support your discussion.
Aim: The aim of this assessment is for students to show understanding and knowledge of the unit material. Students are expected to undertake further readings, aside from the set readings, in order to complete this assessment. The task involves researching and writing a sociological essay on ONE of the three listed topics below. It is expected that you will demonstrate your familiarity with: 1) key sociological concepts, 2) relevant themes and 3) sociological theories explored through the unit. It is important to base your essay on a sociological analysis of the topic. This means you are expected to show evidence of critical thinking, which means moving beyond obvious explanations or surface understandings of the topic area to show a more complex, multifaceted grasp of the issues.
Please contact the Unit Coordinator to discuss your selected essay topic and any questions you may have regarding your essay, the assessment criteria or submission.

Assessment Due Date

Week 11 Monday (22 May 2017) 11:45 pm AEST

Return Date to Students

Monday, 6 June 2015

Weighting
40%
Assessment Criteria

Assessment criteria are provided below and you should refer to the assessment criteria and explanations when preparing the essay.
A summary of standards is provided on Moodle to assist students with feedback on assessment items.
Please contact the unit coordinator if you have any questions or are uncertain of what is required for the assessment. While the unit coordinator can not read and give comment on a draft assignment they can discuss with a student the arguments, ideas and theories used in the preparation of the assignment.
The following criteria will be used to grade the assignment (they are not of equal weighting):
Independent reading and research: You will be assessed on the extent, depth and relevance of your reading. You should make full use of the textbook and other readings, but it is essential that you do your own independent reading as well. This means making use of the library databases and catalogue and doing you own searches. Within the limitations of library resources, you should access the most relevant and most important works relating to your topic. It is difficult to provide exact requirements, but as a rough guide a major essay would contain at least ten references. These references should be mainly sociological books, book chapters, or journal articles; other sources may be used as appropriate to supplement these. In general the following types of sources should be avoided when writing essays—encyclopaedias, popular magazines, newspapers (except for providing up-to-date information or real life examples), introductory sociology textbooks, ordinary dictionaries (use the definitions in a specialist source; in some cases a sociology dictionary may be appropriate) and general internet sites (those containing information not peer-reviewed). You should rely mainly on specialist sources—avoid general or popular sources, except perhaps to provide evidence which is not available in the more specialist sources. Where possible use the original source, or an equivalent one.
Relevance and structure of your argument: Your assignments should be relevant to the question or task set, and should be structured in a logical and coherent fashion. The essay needs to contain an introduction, discussion, conclusion and reference list. In the essay your argument should unfold in a clear and logical manner, with appropriate signposts for the reader. Subheadings may be used in the essay to help structure your writing. An introduction sets out how you are going to approach the topic—that is, it is a statement of intent, rather than of content. You should stick to the required word length. Being under the word limit usually indicates insufficient research; being over means you are having difficulty in focusing on the most relevant or most important points.
Use of supporting evidence: Except for purely theoretical essays, it is important that you back up your arguments with appropriate and solid evidence. There is no point in simply asserting that something is true, you need to substantiate your major claims with relevant concrete information, statistical or other. In general, this would be evidence derived from sociological works that you have come across in your reading, although this may need to be supplemented with other kinds of evidence (from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, for example).
Sociological insight and understanding: You will be assessed on your ability to understand and to apply relevant concepts, theories and methodologies. Depending on the assessment task, you may only refer to one or two perspectives in a particular piece of work, but it is important to know how the perspective you refer to relates to other possible perspectives within the field. Theories do not develop in isolation. New perspectives develop through modification of previous ones, or as critical reactions against them. To appreciate any one perspective, you need to understand how it relates to the alternatives (e.g. Labelling Theory in relation to Parsons' Sick Role). Thinking critically is an important skill which follows on from such appreciation. This means being able to assess the adequacy of the theoretical models being used by the writers you refer to, as well as the adequacy of the evidence they present to support these models. Purely descriptive accounts will not be acceptable.
Originality: To get a distinction or high distinction, there needs to be evidence of critical thinking and original thought. You are encouraged to create original arguments by analysing and evaluating the works of other people in the literature. Regardless of the grade you are aiming at, you should put things into your own words as much as possible, and structure the assignment in your own way.
Presentation: There is a certain standard of presentation which is expected at this unit level. This includes correct spelling, grammar, punctuation and referencing. If there are typographical errors in your assignments, you will lose marks. You should not use sexist, racist or other forms of discriminatory language.
Referencing: All evidence and all ideas which are not your own must be adequately acknowledged at the appropriate point in the text through the Harvard system of referencing, whether you are quoting directly or paraphrasing. You should familiarise yourself with the University policy on plagiarism. Plagiarism is defined in the Undergraduate Handbook, and is explained on the University’s library website. It is essential that you know your obligations in relation to presenting well documented and original work.

Referencing Style
Submission
Online
Submission Instructions
Students MUST submit their essay as a Word file to enable marking and comments to be added.
Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • understand and articulate explanations of the medicalisation of society
  • describe the consequences for health of medical dominance
  • explain the sociological meanings of body, health and illness

Graduate Attributes
  • Communication
  • Critical Thinking
  • Information Literacy
  • Information Technology Competence
  • Cross Cultural Competence
  • Ethical practice

3 Online Quiz(zes)

Assessment Title
Online Quiz
Task Description

The online quiz is available from 8am and it closes at 10pm (AEST) (you must commence the quiz by 9pm).
The online quiz is multiple choice requiring students to complete 60 questions in 60 minutes.
The online quiz will be made available on the day of the quiz through the unit website (Moodle). It can be completed using any computer that has internet access.
The quiz is set to test your understanding of fundamental concepts, theories and facts covered by the unit readings, lecture notes and online weekly forum questions. It covers the entire unit content (weeks 1 – 12).
This is a timed online multiple choice quiz that must be completed on the due date between the hours of 8am and 10pm (Australian Eastern Standard Time). It will be delivered through the ‘Assessment’ section of Moodle, and will only become available on the due date. Students will need to have access to a computer with Internet connection in order to complete the quiz. It is your responsibility to make time to complete the quiz on the due date, and to arrange for a reliable Internet connection.
Before you take the quiz, make sure that you are ready (i.e. a proper revision has been done) and choose a time and computer/place with minimum distraction to sit for the quiz (i.e. do not have external disturbances from people, pets, etc). Be conscious of the time limit while taking the quiz—make sure you have a clock in front of you, and note down your starting time. Plan to have started the quiz by 9.00pm (AEST) to ensure full completion before the quiz closes down at 10pm (AEST).
There is only one correct or best answer to each question, and you need to select the option corresponding to this answer.
There are no penalties for incorrect answers.
While you will be able to refer to the textbook or other resources while you are taking the quiz, you cannot afford to do this for every question because of the time limit. You need to have a good understanding of the unit content before taking the quiz.
NOTE: Each student will receive a customised quiz, chosen in random fashion, so that collusion will not be possible. The presentation of questions is ten questions at a time. You must answer the page of questions before you go on to the next one.
Remember to note the time when you start the quiz and pace yourself to ensure you have time to complete all the questions. Some practice multiple choice questions will be given to students on the Moodle site as an example.
In order to be eligible to pass the unit you must attempt and submit the quiz.

Number of Quizzes

1

Frequency of Quizzes

Other

Assessment Due Date

Week 12 Friday (2 June 2017) 10:00 pm AEST

Return Date to Students

Monday (5 June 2017)

Weighting
30%
Assessment Criteria

No Assessment Criteria

Referencing Style
Submission
Online
Submission Instructions
Students to attempt and submit the quiz answers online by 10pm on the quiz day (AEST)
Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • understand and articulate explanations of the medicalisation of society
  • describe the consequences for health of medical dominance
  • explain the sociological meanings of body, health and illness

Graduate Attributes
  • Communication
  • Critical Thinking
  • Information Literacy
  • Cross Cultural Competence
  • Ethical practice

Academic Integrity Statement

As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.

Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.

When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.

Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.

As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.

What is a breach of academic integrity?

A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.

Why is academic integrity important?

A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.

Where can I get assistance?

For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.

What can you do to act with integrity?