Medicine, Values, and Society

Catalog description

Social, conceptual, and policy issues connected with medicine form the focus of the course. Topics may include: (1) role played by race & gender in design of research and distribution of care; (2) whether diseases are socially constructed categories reflecting the values of society; (3) development of social policies that offer universal access to health care; (4) the legitimacy of using psychotropic drugs to enhance life, rather than treat the disease. The course differs from Bioethics by emphasizing policy issues and their conceptual basis. Content of this course may vary.