Sociology 205

Poverty, Race, and Health

Fall 2004

Instructor:David R. Williams

Description:

This course critically examines the health status of the poor, and of major racial/ethnic minority groups in the United States. Attention will be focused on the patterned ways in which the health of these groups is embedded in the social, cultural, political, and economic contexts and arrangements of U.S. society. Topics covered include the meaning and measurement of race, the ways in which racism affects health, the historic uses of minorities in medical research, how acculturation and migration affects health, and an examination of the specific health problems that disproportionately affect minority group members.

Required Reading:

1. Coursepack available from coursetools:

OR

2. Abraham, Laurie. Mama Might be Better Off Dead: The Failure of Health Care in Urban America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993.

3. Ehrenreich, Barbara. Nickel and Dimed: on (not) getting by in America. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 2001.

4. Viramontes, Helena Maria. Under the Feet of Jesus. New York: PLUME, 1996.

(Books are available at Shaman Drum bookstore & University Reserves)

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND DUE DATES:

1.Class discussion

2.Book reviews:

Each student will prepare a report on the three required texts:

a. Nickel and Dimed, Due October 5

b. Under the Feet of Jesus, Due November 4

c. Mama Might be Better Off Dead, Due December 2

Each review (about 4 double-spaced pages) should consist of a brief summary (no more than 1 page) and especially a critical evaluation and reaction to the book (3 pages).

Guidelines for the Review

Focus on offering your ideas about the book. Do not lapse into summarizing. Instead, identify the author'(s) major thesis and the logic of the argument. Evaluate both thoroughly. What do you think of the authors' thesis and logic? How did he or she handle each? (You may agree with the overall thesis, for example, but critique the logic of the argument.) Do you agree or disagree with the author? Why or why not? Evaluate how the author gathered and presented evidence to support his or her position. Is the evidence adequate? Why or why not? Is it convincing? Why or why not? Are there key ideas the author failed to take into account (remember that it is only fair to address them if they reasonably fit under the author's original purpose). Do not merely tell me that you liked or disliked the book; you must give your reasons.

To handle this in a few pages, you must focus on the most significant issues and ideas in the book. Present the big picture in the book and do not get bogged down in small points. As you assess this big picture, you need to provide evidence as to why your reader should interpret the material as you do. Hence, your paper will have more punch and your writing more power if you frame your critique into an argument of your own. While writing your critique, make judicious use of examples, illustrations, applications and short quotes (often a phrase will do). Look for the author's assumptions as well as your own.

Criteria for Evaluation of Your Reviews

1.Your presentation should be organized. What is the main point of your argument? You must demonstrate the logic of your answer. How do you get from A to B?

2.Support your arguments by using the reading and/or class material. Remember, you are trying to convince the reader of the evidence supporting your position.

3.The quality of your own ideas is important. Show your own creative, independent thinking as much as possible.

4.Be specific in your analysis. Clearly demonstrate why a point is or is not valid. Develop logical arguments. Use specific examples to illustrate your point. It is important to indicate why you think the way you do. Do not assume anything on the part of the reader. You must convince him or her.

5.Make a professional presentation. Produce clean, neat, well-written and organized material.

  1. Mid-term exam: OCTOBER 28
  2. Second exam: December 14

Final exam: DECEMBER 23?????

COURSE OUTLINE & REQUIRED READINGS

September 7, Introduction and Overview

September 9, The Truth about Poverty and Inequality

  1. Mantsios, Gregory, 1992. "Class in America: Myths and Realities." Pp. 202-215 in Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing, 2nd ed. Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle, eds. New York: Bedford Books.
  2. Gilbert, Dennis, 1998. “The Dimensions of Class.” Pp. 1-22 in The American Class Structure in an age of growing inequality. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing.
  3. Cole, David, 1998. “Five Myths about Immigration.” Pp. 125-129 in “Race, Class, and Gender in the United States.”New York: St. Martin’s Press.

September 14, Poverty Policies in the U.S.

  1. Gilbert, Dennis, 1998. “The Poor, the Underclass, and Public Policy.” Pp. 251-281 in The American Class Structure in an age of growing inequality. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing.
  2. Fischer, Claude S. et al. 1996. "How Unequal? America's Invisible Policy Choices." Pp. 129-157 in Fischer, Claude S., Hout, Michael, Jankowski, Martin S., et al. Inequality by Design: Cracking the Bell Curve Myth. Princeton, NJ: PrincetonUniversity Press.

September 16, Socioeconomic Status and Health-I

  1. Dutton, Diana and Sol Levine, 1989. “Socioeconomic Status and Health: Overview, Methodological Critique, and Reformation.” Pp. 29-46, 54-60 in Pathways to Health: The Role of Social Factors. Menlo Park, CA: The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
  2. Adler, Nancy and Joan M. Ostrove, 1999. “Socioeconomic Status and Health: What We Know and What We Don’t.” Pp. 3-15 in Socioeconomic Status and Health in Industrial Nations: Social Psychological and Biological Pathways. New York: The New YorkAcademy of Sciences.

September 21, Poverty, Film Festival

FILMS: “On the Edge: America’s Working Poor”

“Miracle on South Michigan Street”

1. Link, Bruce G., and Jo Phelan. 2002. The Concept of Fundamental Causes in Explaining Social Inequalities in Health” Chapter 3 in Ann Maney and Juan Ramos (eds.) Socioeconomic Conditions, Stress and Mental Disorders: Toward a New Synthesis of Research and Public Policy. Available:

September 23, Socioeconomic Status and Health-II

  1. Shively, Carol A., 2000. “Social Status, Stress, and Health in Female Monkeys.” Pp. 278-289 in Alvin R. Tarlov and Robert F. St. Peter (eds.) The Society and Population Health Reader: a state and community perspective.New York: The New Press.

2. Baum 1999. “Socioeconomic Status and Chronic Stress: Does Stress Account for the SES Effects on Health? Pp. 131-144 in Nancy E. Adler, Michael Marmot, Bruce S. McEwen and Judith Stewart (eds.) Socioeconomic Status and Health in Industrial Nations. New York: New YorkAcademy of Sciences.

September 28, The Truth About Race

1. Montagu, Ashley, 1997. “The Origin of the Concept of Race.” Pp. 41-97 in Man’s Most Dangerous Myth. California: AltaMira Press.

2.Omi, Michael and Howard Winant, 1998. “Racial Formations.” Pp. 13-22 in Race, Class and Gender in the United States. New York: St. Martin’s Press.

3.Goodman, Alan H., 1997. “Bred in the Bone?” The Sciences April 1997: 20-25.

September 30, Race Matters? Historical & Contemporary Debates

1.Gould, Stephen Jay. 1981. "American Polygeny and Craniometry before Darwin." Pp. 30-72 in The Mismeasure of Man. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.

2.Fischer, Claude S., et al. 1996. "Race, Ethnicity, and Intelligence." Pp. 171-203 in Fischer, Claude S., Hout, Michael, Jankowski, Martin S., et al. Inequality by Design: Cracking the Bell Curve Myth. Princeton, NJ: PrincetonUniversity Press.

October 5, Historical and Social Context for the Study of Racial Differences in Health-I

BOOK REPORT DUE (Nickel and Dimed)

  1. Krieger, Nancy, 1987. "Shades of Difference: Theoretical Underpinnings of the Medical Controversy on Black/White Differences in the United States, 1830-1870." International Journal of Health Services 17(2): 259-278.
  2. Savitt, Todd L, 1982. "The Use of Blacks for Medical Experimentation and Demonstration in the Old South." Journal of Southern History XLVIII(3):331-348

.

October 7, Historical and Social Context for the Study of Racial Differences in Health-II

1.Brandt, Allan M, 1978. "Racism and Research: The Case of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study." The HastingsCenter Report 8(6): 21-29.

2.Duster, Troy, 1984. "A Social Frame for Biological Knowledge." Pp.1-40 in Troy Duster and Karen Garrett (Eds) Cultural Perspectives on Biological Knowledge. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing.

October 12, Racial/Ethnic Variations in Health-I

  1. Williams, David R., 2004. “Health and the Quality of Life Among African Americans.” Pp. 115-138 in The State of Black America 2004: The Complexity of Black Progress, New York: The National Urban League.
  2. Carter-Pokras, Olivia and Ruth Enid Zambrana. 2001. “Latino Health Status.” Pp. 23-54 in Marilyn Aguirre-Molina, Carlos W. Molina and Ruth Enid Zambrana (eds.) Health Issues in the Latino Community. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
  3. Hayes-Bautista, David E., 1992. “Latino Health Indicators and the Underclass Model: From Paradox to New Policy Models.” Pp. 32-47 in Antonio Furino (ed.), Health Policy and the Hispanic. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

October 14, Racial/Ethnic Variations in Health-II

FILM: “Immigrants in Chinatown”

  1. Louie, K. 2001. White Paper on the Health Status of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and Recommendations for Research. Nursing Outlook 49:173-8.
  2. Dhooper, S. 2003. Health Care Needs of Foreign-born Asian Americans: An Overview. Health 7 Social Work 28(1): 63-73.

3. Roberts, S. 2003. Native American Health: Examining our Commitment to Indian Health Services. AWHONN Lifelines 7(3):244-250.

  1. Burhansstipanov, L. 2000. Urban Native American Health Issues. Cancer 88(5 Suppl): 1207-13.

October 19

NO CLASS- Fall study break

October 21, Race in Health Research-I

1. Williams, David R. 1997. "Race and Health: Basic Questions, Emerging Directions." Annals of Epidemiology 7:322-333.

2.Williams, David R., 1999. “The Monitoring of Racial/Ethnic Status in the USA: Data Quality Issues.” Ethnicity and Health 4(3): 121-167.

October 26, Race in Health Research-II

1.Burhansstipanov, Linda and Delight E. Satter, 2000. “Office of Management and Budget Racial Categories and Implications for American Indians and Alaska Natives.” American Journal of Public Health 90(11): 1720-1723.

2. Srinivasan, Shobha and Tessie Guillermo, 2000. “Toward Improved Health: Disaggregating Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Data.” American Journal of Public Health 90(11): 1731-1734.

4.Amaro, Hortensia and Ruth E. Zambrana, 2000. “Criollo, Mestizo, Mulato, LatiNegro, Indigena, White or Black? The US Hispanic/Latino Population and Multiple Responses in the 2000 Census.” American Journal of Public Health 90(11): 1724-1727.

October 28

MID-TERM EXAM

November 2, Racism and Health

1 Jones, Camara Phyllis, 2000. “Levels of Racism: A Theoretic Framework and a Gardener’s Tale.” American Journal of Public Health 90(8): 1212-1215.

2.Williams, David R, 2004. “Racism and Health.” Chapter 6 in Keith Whitfield (ed.) Closing the Gap: Improving Health of Minority Elders in the New Millenium. Washington, D.C. Gerontological Society of America.

November 4, Residential Segregation and Health”

BOOK REPORT DUE (Under the Feet of Jesus)

Film: “Why We Can’t Live Together”

1. Schulz, A.J., Williams, D.R., Israel, B.L., and Lempert, L.B. 2002. “Racial and Spacial Relations as Fundamental Determinants of Health in Detroit.” Milbank Quarterly 80(4): 677-707.

November 9, Experiences of Discrimination and Health

Film: “The Angry Heart”

1. Feagin, Joe R, 1991. "The Continuing Significance of Race: Antiblack Discrimination in Public Places." American Sociological Review 56:101-116.

  1. Graham, Lawrence O. 1995. “Invisible Man.” Pp. 1-26 in Member of the Club. New York: HarperCollins.
  2. McIntosh, Peggy, 1992. "White Privilege and Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming to See Correspondences Through Work in Women's Studies." Pp. 70-81 in Margaret L. Andersen and Patricia Hill Collins (Eds.) Race, Class, and Gender. Wadsworth Press.

November 11, Racism in Medical Care?

1. Smedley, Brian D., Stith, Adrienne Y., and Alan R. Nelson (eds.). 2003. Introduction and Literature Review. Pp. 29-79 in Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.

2. Williams, David R. and Toni D. Rucker, 2000. “Understanding and Addressing Racial Disparities in Health Care.” Health Care Financing Review 21(4): 75-90.

November 16, Health Care in the U.S.

FILM: “Borderline Medicine”

  1. Waitzkin, Howard. 1990. "A Marxian Interpretation of the Growth and Development of Coronary Care Technology." PP. 218-230 in Peter Conrad and Rochelle Kern (eds.) The Sociology of Health and Illness, Critical Perspectives, 3rd ed. New York: St. Martin's Press.
  2. Roth, Julius A. "Some Contingencies of the Moral Evaluation and Control of Clientele: The Case of the Hospital Emergency Service." 1990. Pp. 308-319 in Peter Conrad and Rochelle Kern, The Sociology of Health and Illness, Critical Perspectives, 3rd ed. New York: St. Martin's Press.

November 18, Infant Mortality

  1. James, Sherman A. 1993. "Racial and Ethnic Differences in Infant Mortality and Low Birth Weight." Annals of Epidemiology 3:130-136.
  2. Geronimus, Arline T. 1992. "The Weathering Hypothesis and the Health of African-American Women and Infants: Evidence and Speculations." Ethnicity and Disease 2:207-221.
  3. Franzini, L., Ribble, J.C., and A.M. Keddie. Understanding the Hispanic Paradox. Ethnicity and Disease 11(3):496-518, 2001

November 23, Early Life Influences on Adult Health

  1. Hertzman, Clyde, 1999. “The Biological Embedding of Early Experience and its Effects on Health in Adulthood.” Pp. 85-95 in Socioeconomic Status and Health in Industrial Nations: Social Psychological and Biological Pathways. New York: The New YorkAcademy of Sciences. .
  2. Felitti, Vincent J. et al., 1998. “Relationship of Childhood Abuse and Household Dysfunction to Many of the Leading Causes of Death in Adults: The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine 14(4): 245-258.

November 25,

NO CLASS- Thanksgiving Recess

November 30, Social Structure and Health Behavior

FILM: “Marketing Booze to Blacks”

  1. Moore, David J., Jerome D. Williams, and William J. Qualls. 1996. "Target Marketing of Tobacco and Alcohol Related Products to Ethnic Minority Groups in the U.S." Ethnicity and Disease 6:83-98.
  2. Ellaway, A., Macintyre S. 1996. Does Where you Live Predict Health Related Behaviors? A case study in Glasgow. Health Bulletin 56:443-6.

December 2, Mental Health

BOOK REPORT DUE (Mama Might be Better off Dead)

1. Adebimpe, Victor R. 1981. "Overview: White Norms and Psychiatric Diagnosis of Black Patients." American Journal of Psychiatry 138-3:279-85.

2. Williams, David R., and Michelle Harris-Reid. 1999. "Race and Mental Health: Emerging Patterns and Promising Approaches." Pp. 295-327 in Allan V. Horwitz and Teresa L. Scheid (eds.), The Sociology of Mental Health and Illness. New York: Cambridge, University Press.

December 7, Social Resources and Health

1. Berkman, Lisa. “Social Networks and Health: The Bonds that Heal” Pp. 259-277 in Alvin R. Tarlov and Robert F. St. Peter (eds.) The Society and Population Health Reader: a state and community perspective.New York: The New Press.

2. James, Sherman A. 1994. "John Henryism and the Health of African-Americans." Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry 18:163-182.

3. Wallace, John M. Jr. and Forman TA. 1998. “Religion's role in promoting health and reducing risk among American youth.”Health Education & Behavior. 25(6):721-41.

December 9, Race and Hypertension

1.Wilson, Thomas W., and Clarence E. Grim, 1991. "Biohistory of Slavery and Blood Pressure Differences in Blacks Today." Hypertension Supp. I 17(1): I-112-I-128.

2.Williams, David R, 1992. "Black-White Differences in Blood Pressure: The Role of Social Factors." Ethnicity and Disease 2:126-141.

3.Schnall, Peter L., and Rochelle Kern,1986. "Hypertension in American Society: An Introduction to Historical Materialist Epidemiology." Pp. 73-89 in Peter Conrad and Rochelle Kern (Eds.) The Sociology of Health and Illness, 2nd ed. New York: St. Martin's Press.

December 14

SECOND EXAM

1