This new edition includes a completely revised chapter on mental health and new chapters on the sociology of the body and on the relationship between health and risk in contemporary societies.

The fully revised edition of this successful textbook provides a comprehensive introduction to medical sociology and an assessment of its significance for social theory and the social sciences. It includes a completely revised chapter on mental health and new chapters on the sociology of the body and on the relationship between health and risk in contemporary societies. Bryan S Turner considers the ways in which different social theorists have interpreted the experience of health and disease, and the social relations and power structures involved in medical practice. He examines health as an aspect of social action and looks at the subject of health at three levels - the individual, the social and the societal. Among the perspectives analyzed are: Parsons′ view of the `sick role′ and the patient′s relation to society; Foucault′s critique of medical models of madness and sexuality; Marxist and feminist debates on the relation of health and medicine to capitalism and patriarchy; and Beck′s contribution to the sociological understanding of environmental pollution and hazard in the politics of health.

Winner of the 1983 Pulitzer Prize and the Bancroft Prize in American History, this is a landmark history of how the entire American health care system of doctors, hospitals, health plans, and government programs has evolved over the last two centuries. "The definitive social history of the medical profession in America....A monumental achievement."—H. Jack Geiger, M.D., New York Times Book Review

The reader, whether a professional health care worker, researcher, clinician, or concerned individual, will obtain a clearer perspective on the connections between men′s health and gender, along with a broader conceptualization of the experiences of men in contemporary society. --Choice Men′s Health and Illness contextualizes men′s health issues within the broader theoretical framework of the new men′s studies. This framework focuses on the profound influence of gender on social life and individual experience. The editors and chapter contributors of this groundbreaking volume argue that gender is a key factor for understanding the patterns of men′s health risks, the ways men perceive and use their bodies, and men′s psychological adjustment to illness itself. Part I introduces readers to men′s studies perspectives and explains their relevance for understanding men′s health. Part II explores the linkages between traditional gender roles, men′s health, and larger structural and cultural contexts, and Part III examines the implications of multiple masculinities for health issues. The scope of this volume is both multidisciplinary and international. The authors use quantitative and qualitative research methodologies which provide a well-rounded analysis of the subject matter. Taken collectively, the contributions to Men′s Health and Illness reflect current efforts by men′s studies practitioners to develop theoretical explanations of men′s lives that also refer to the influences of class, race, ethnicity, sexual preference, and age. This collaborative effort in presenting research and theories is so significant that it should become part of the literature studied by advocates of women′s studies and men′s studies. The reader, whether professional healthcare worker, researcher, clinician, or concerned individual will obtain a clearer perspective on the connections between men′s health and gender, along with a broader conceptualization of the experiences of men in contemporary society. Upper-division undergraduate through professional." --Choice

Lupton′s newest edition of Medicine as Culture is more relevant than ever. Trudy Rudge, Professor of Nursing, University of Sydney A welcome update of a text that has become a mainstay of the medical sociologist′s library. Alan Radley, Emeritus Professor of Social Psychology, Loughborough University Medicine as Culture introduces students to a broad range of cross-disciplinary theoretical perspectives, using examples that emphasize bodies and visual images. Lupton′s core contrast between lay perspectives on illness and medical power is a useful beginning point for courses teaching health and illness from a socio-cultural perspective. Arthur Frank, Department of Sociology, University of Calgary Medicine as Culture is unlike any other sociological text on health and medicine. It combines perspectives drawn from a wide variety of disciplines including sociology, anthropology, social history, cultural geography, and media and cultural studies. The book explores the ways in which medicine and health care are sociocultural constructions, ranging from popular media and elite cultural representations of illness to the power dynamics of the doctor-patient relationship. The Third Edition has been updated to cover new areas of interest, including: - studies of space and place in relation to the body - actor-network theory as it is applied in research related to medicine - The internet and social media and how they contribute to lay health knowledge and patient support - complementary and alternative medicine - obesity and fat politics. Contextualising introductions and discussion points in every chapter makes Medicine as Culture, Third Edition a rigorous yet accessible text for students. Deborah Lupton is an independent sociologist and Honorary Associate in the Department of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Sydney.

Ranging in time and locale, these essays, which combine theoretical argument with empirical observation, are based on research in historical and cultural settings. The contributors accept the notion that all knowledge is socially and culturally constructed and examine the contexts in which that knowledge is produced and practiced in medicine, psychiatry, epidemiology, and anthropology. -- from publisher description.

This title provides a systematic and accessible introduction to medical sociology, beginning each 1500 word entry with a definition of the concept, then examines its origins, development, strengths and weaknesses, offering further reading guidance for independent learning, and drawing on international literature and examples.