SOC 590 A: Special Topics In Sociology
SOC 590 A: Foundations of Population Health and Health Disparities
Department of Sociology
Autumn Quarter ∙ 2016
Fridays ∙ 1:30-3:20PM ∙ SAV 409
Instructor: Hedwig (Hedy) Lee
Office: Savery 234
Email: hedylee@uw.edu
Note to MSW students – MSW students may count 3 credits from outside the department towards your MSW elective requirement with no further permission as long as the class is graduate level (500 level) and it can be related to your work in social work.
Course Description:
This course seeks to provide an overview and understanding of the nature and social determinants of the health of human populations, disparities in health within and between populations, and of ways in which population health may be improved by the translation of scientific knowledge into interventions and public policy. It explicitly envisions the linking of social, environmental, and biological theories into a new perspective on population health, with a particular emphasis on theories and research in sociology and demography within the United States. This course will expose graduate students to research across a variety of disciplines that examine the social conditions that are related to health and health disparities within populations, and some of the mechanisms through which these patterns are produced and persist. Students will engage in discussions of the reading material toward the goal of setting research agendas to resolve key debates and plot new paths for research and theory in population health. The course will also serve as an opportunity for students to develop their own research interests in this area.
This is a new, growing, and interdisciplinary area of scientific and policy concern. Therefore, it is one in which there are still substantial differences in knowledge, viewpoints and understanding. We will try to recognize these disparate views, while also trying to achieve the best common understanding that we can.
Hedwig (Hedy) Lee, Associate Professor
Department of Sociology
Email: hedylee@uw.edu
Phone: 206.543.4572
