Syllabus
During the course students will learn about the major topics of the medical sociology 1) Health and disease (illness, sickness)2) Medicalization of life and society3) Salutogenesis by Antonovsky4)Overview of the health care systems5) Alternative medicine6) Spirituality and health - state of the art
Annotation
In this course various links between human health, disease and socio-cultural conditions will be studied. Health, disease and health care will be explored in the historical and cultural perspective. Paradigms of health and disease in ancient and modern cultures will be compared.
Selected topis from the list will be presented:
Religious and spiritual aspects of human illnesses and treatments will be investigated. Focus on health and health promotion in religious systems will be discovered. A special focus will be paid to extreme and life changing situations like dying, suicide, lethal illness, stillbirth, abortion, loss in the family, injury etc. Archaic, traditional and modern medical systems will be compared and discussed. Medicalization of modern society will be demonstrated. Complementary and alternative medicine as a part of integrated medicine.
Pedagogical tools:
This course is based on ACTIVE LEARNING. Lectures will be combined with seminars (reading and discussions)
Students will be encouraged to contribute actively to the course content by means of their written essays, presentations and group discussions. This course is suitable for Erasmus incoming students who can contribute to the intercultural and international perspective in perceiving health and disease as cultural phenomena.