Social and Health Inequalities (221-0-1)

Instructors

Thomas McDade
847/467-4304
1810 Hinman Ave., Room #202 , EV Campus
Thom McDade is a biological anthropologist specializing in human population biology. His work is primarily concerned with the dynamic interrelationships among society, biology and health over the life course, with an emphasis on life course approaches to stress and the human immune system.

Meeting Info

Kresge Centennial Hall 2-415: Mon, Wed, Fri 2:00PM - 2:50PM

Overview of class

What is a more important predictor of how long you will live, the genes you inherit from your parents, or the zip code of where you grew up? This course aims to answer this question, as well as others, regarding the origins of social inequalities in health in the US. The course will also consider the broader global context, and ask why the US spends so much money on health care, but lags behind many nations in key indicators of population health. It will examine how social stratification by race/ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, education, and neighborhood quality shapes our biology and the health status of individuals, families, and populations; and, conversely, how health itself can be a fundamental determinant of key social outcomes such as educational achievement.

Class Materials (Required)

""Weathering: The Extraordinary Stress of Ordinary Life in an Unjust Society," by Arline T Geronimus. Little, Brown Spark.
ISBN-13: 9780316258074 (paper back version)"

Class Attributes

Social and Behavioral Science Foundational Discipl
U.S. Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity
Social & Behavioral Sciences Distro Area