OPEN TO UNDERGRADUATES ONLY

This course offers an introduction to sociological theories and
research related to mental health and mental illness. It looks
beyond individual symptoms and diagnoses and focuses instead on the
mechanisms operating in the social environment - the structures,
institutions, and relationships that contribute to the definition,
perception and distribution of mental illness in the population. The
course will be organized in four parts: we will first examine
competing theories of mental illness, its diagnosis and prevalence.
Second, we will focus on how social factors (e.g. race, gender and
class) shape mental illness, as well as its determinants and
consequences. The third section will examine the structure,
provision and organization of mental health services, and in the
final section we will study legal issues related to mental illness
and its portrayal in the media.