SOC 371 SOCIOLOGY OF MENTAL HEALTH
This course will examine the topics of mental health and mental illness through a sociological lens. The distinct contributions of sociologists will be emphasized throughout the course as we explore the topics of the social construction of mental health and illness, the influence of labeling theory, and perspectives on stigma. The course will begin with a broad focus exploring how mental illness and mental health are defined- by individuals, by groups, by cultures. Students will explore mass media to investigate how mental illness is experienced at the individual level as well as how it is responded to within society broadly. Attention is paid to the influence of social status characteristics on diagnosis, treatment, and social response with specific emphasis on inequalities within the mental health care system. Students will explore the view that mental illness is an individual concern and apply the concept of the sociological imagination to consider the ways in which it is a public issue.