An Introduction to the Sociology of Health and Illness. 3rd edn. by
The bestselling An Introduction to the Sociology of Health and Illness has long been the go-to text for students looking for a clear, engaging and theoretically informed introduction to this dynamic topic.Written with a truly sociological and critical perspective, and thoroughly updated to include the latest cutting-edge thinking in the area, the new edition is packed with new empirical examples.Incorporating helpful learning features including chapter overviews, boxed cases, summaries and further reading, this book is a stimulating and thought-provoking essential text for students in health, nursing and sociology schools.
Letting Stories Breathe by
Stories accompany us through life from birth to death. But they do not merely entertain, inform, or distress us-they show us what counts as right or wrong and teach us who we are and who we can imagine being. Stories connect people, but they can also disconnect, creating boundaries between people and justifying violence. In Letting Stories Breathe, Arthur W. Frank grapples with this fundamental aspect of our lives, offering both a theory of how stories shape us and a useful method for analyzing them. Along the way he also tells stories: from folktales to research interviews to remembrances. Frank's unique approach uses literary concepts to ask social scientific questions: how do stories make life good and when do they endanger it? Going beyond theory, he presents a thorough introduction to dialogical narrative analysis, analyzing modes of interpretation, providing specific questions to start analysis, and describing different forms analysis can take. Building on his renowned work exploring the relationship between narrative and illness, Letting Stories Breathe expands Frank's horizons further, offering a compelling perspective on how stories affect human lives.
At the Will of the Body by
In this deeply affecting memoir, Arthur W. Frank explores the events of illness from within: the transformation from person to patient, the pain, the wonder,and the ceremony of recovery. To illuminate what illness can teach us about life, Frank draws upon his own encounters with serious illness -- a heart attack at age thirty-nine and, a year later, a diagnosis of cancer. In poignant and clear prose, he offers brilliant insights into what happens when our bodies and emotions are pushed to extremes. Ultimately, he examines what it means to be human.
Understanding the Sociology of Health by 
Health. 2nd edn. by
The second edition of Mildred Blaxter's successful and highly respected book offers a comprehensive and engaging introduction to the key debates surrounding the concept of health today. It discusses how health is defined, constructed, experienced and acted out in contemporary developed societies, drawing on a range of empirical data from the USA, Britain, France, and many other countries. The new edition has been thoroughly revised and updated, with new material added on health and identity, the "new genetics", the sociology of the body, and the formation of health capital throughout the life course. The topic is the concept of health, rather than the more usual emphasis on illness and health-care systems. Special emphasis is given to the lay perspective to show how people themselves think about and experience health. Blaxter guides students through all the relevant conceptual models of the relationship of health to the structure of society, from inequality in health to the ideas of the risk society, the ?socio-biological translation? and the contribution of health to social capital. The book concludes with a comprehensively revised and thought-provoking discussion of the impact of new technology, the boundaries between life and death, modern commodification of health, technological transformations of the body and theories of evolutionary biology. Health is an invaluable textbook for students of medicine and other health professions as well as those studying sociology, health sciences and health promotion.
Unequal lives; health and socioeconomic inequalities by 
Contemporary Theorists for Medical Sociology by
Contemporary Theorists for Medical Sociology explores the work of key social theorists and the application of their ideas to issues around health and illness. Encouraging students and researchers to use mainstream sociological thought to inform and deepen their knowledge and understanding of the many arenas of health and healthcare, this text discusses and critically reviews the work of several influential contemporary thinkers, including - Foucault, Bauman, Habermas, Luhmann, Bourdieu, Merleau-Ponty, Wallerstein, Archer, Deleuze, Guattari, and Castells. Each chapter includes a critical introduction to the central theses of a major social theorist, ways in which their ideas might inform medical sociology and some worked examples of how their ideas can be applied. Containing contributions from established scholars, rising stars and innovative practitioners, this book is a valuable read for those studying and researching the sociology of health and illness.
The Sociology of Health and Illness by 
