German physician Rudolf Virchow makes the claim that “medicine is a social science”. He asserts that there are social, political and economic factors that influence people’s perception of their bodies producing culturally unique forms of sickness. To determine whether this statement is true, one can easily look at sicknesses in different regions of the world. For example, Susto is a sickness found in Latin America that is characterized by chronic somatic suffering because of emotional trauma (Rubel 1964). The fact that this sickness is not found anywhere else in the world means that we can’t ignore the factors that might produce Susto in Latina America. Therefore, medicine can be argued to be a social science because it is influenced by social, political, and economic features. Social factors play an integral part in society’s perception of sickness. Every culture system has belief systems …show more content…
Lesley Doyal tackles this issue in her paper What Makes Women Sick. In the article, she dedicates a specific portion to talk about how governments limit the capacity of medicine to deal with women’s health problems. By promoting research conducted by white cis-males, it introduces a bias that ignores health issues that primarily affect women. Doyal goes further by stating, “Researchers working on coronary heart disease, for example, have continued to act as though it were only a ‘male’ problem, despite the fact that it is the single most important cause of death in post-menopausal women, killing half a million a year in the United States” (Doyal 1995:17). If it is mainly geared towards men, then women have a tough time conceptualizing which sickness applies to them and which do not. This is important to understand because it solidifies the idea that medicine is a social science that can be interpreted based upon who is conducting the research that influences health
When the Europeans first arrived in Latin America, they didn’t realize the immensity of their actions. As history has proven, the Europeans have imposed many things on the Latin American territory have had a long, devastating effect on the indigenous people. In the centuries after 1492, Europeans would control much of South America and impose a foreign culture upon the already established civilizations that existed before their arrival. These imposed ideas left the continent weak and resulted in the loss of culture, the dependence on European countries, and a long standing ethnic tension between natives and settlers which is evident even to this day. The indigenous people of South America, which
American attitudes towards Latin America can be summed up as an extension of larger global directives, and the exclusion of foreign powers in the region. This was highlighted especially during the Cold War as US involvement was essentially in competition with the USSR. Latin America was therefore a mere pawn in the larger context of US-Soviet competition for global dominance. The actions and methods used are also characterized by the lack of an international authority, or an atmosphere of inter-state anarchy, which shaped their calculations in the endeavor to increase their influence over Latin America. When one analyzes the situation, it seems only rational that the United States treated its southern neighbors so, due to the geographical
Sociology: Some guiding principles Social exploration of health – Group & individual experiences – Unique, individual factors of health/illness BUT also shared, social factors Medical knowledge, practice, & technology – Often constructed as THE TRUTH, without reference to the historical and cultural development of medicine ‐ sociology critiques what is meant by TRUTH. Health is socially shaped – What is means to be healthy or ill shifts between generations and within generations; across cultures and within cultures 3 2/17/2016 Identifying a sociological approach Key features of a sociological approach: Social distribution and production of health patterns of health and illness eg gender, class, age Social construction of health defining and meanings of health and illness Social organisation of health social processes to manage health and illness eg power; which health services receive funding priority etc., ‘who does what and to whom’
What would it take for one country and their people to do whatever is necessary to attain freedom and rules that would pertain to a better future? Throughout the revolutions, these questions have been answered, but fight after fight is the most noticeable action as seen so far in the chapter. This leads to the question, how would a new government cause issues, instead of helping? Latin America faced many issues dealing with independence and struggled in many areas and needed to develop a new strategy, so the issues with independence can be resolved. However, the development of the nation did not occur well due to the structure of their new government and the people wanted them to know that the old system was what they were looking for and the treatment of the people was not stable.
In Washington Irving's short story "The Devil and Tom Walker," the protagonist, Tom Walker, is described as a "meagre, miserly" fellow who conspires to cheat his wife—who is equally as meagre and miserly as he is! Together, they live in an austere home, where they regularly fight over material things. Tom is also described as not being "troubled with any fears"; his cavalier attitude and arrogance result in him coming face to face with the devil himself, Old Scratch, who offers him great wealth in exchange for his soul. Tom's contrary disposition causes him to decide that he won't sell his soul simply because his wife wants him to do so. Despite this, Tom winds up entering into the bargain, which further illuminates his greed, vanity, and stinginess.
After the age of enlightenment, colonies and nations around the world began questioning their rulers and ruling nations. Liberal and nationalist ideas spread across Europe and the world, especially after the French Revolution. When these beliefs spread to the colonies of America, independence movements and revolts occurred. The Latin American revolution and Haitian revolution were both significant events during the 19th century that affected both their respective nations and the world. While both revolutions resulted similarly such that a social hierarchy based on race existed after independence, they differ in that while the Latin American revolutions placed an emphasis on ending the Spanish casta system, Haitian revolution was based on freeing slaves.
In the Mexican culture treats physical and mental illnesses as one. They consider emotional, spiritual, social and physical factors are contributors to disease (Santana & Santa, 2005). These illness measures as a social crisis affect the entire group.
During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the United States was the most dominant power in the Western Hemisphere. European nations conceded to the United States their right of any intervention in the Western Hemisphere and allowed the United States to do whatever they wanted. The United States took this newly bestowed power and abused it. The United States intervened in many Latin American countries and imposed their policies on to these countries against their will. A perfect example of this aggression is what occurred in the Dominican Republic in 1904. The United States intervened in this sovereign nation and took control of their economy and custom houses. A memorandum from Francis B. Loomis, the United States Assistant
The novels, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, show the negative views of imperialism in Africa. Chinua Achebe was raised in Nigeria, which gives him a particular credibility that is incomparable, his use of Pathos comes directly from the source which also gives him Ethos. On the other hand, Joseph Conrad had experience in both the French and British merchant navies.
This report will be investigating the various sociological perspectives on health as well as the models and definitions of health and ill health. These topics will assist in the understanding of how different people and different cultures react to ill health.
The Independence of Latin America was a process caused by years of injustices, discriminations, and abuse, from the Spanish Crown upon the inhabitants of Latin America. Since the beginning the Spanish Crown used the Americas as a way to gain riches and become greater in power internationally. Three of the distinct causes leading Latin America to seek independence from Spain, were that Spain was restricting Latin America from financial growth, (this included restrictions from the Spain on international trade, tax burden, and laws which only allowed the Americas to buy from Spain), The different social groups within Latin America, felt the pressure of the reforms being implicated on them
The conceptualisation of medicine as an institution of societal control was first theorised by Parsons (1951), and from this stemmed the notion of the deviant termed illness in which the “sick role” was a legitimised condition. The societal reaction and perspective was deemed a pillar of the emerging social construction of disease and conception of the formalised medical model of disease. Concerns surrounding medicalisation fundamentally stem from the fusion of social and medical concerns wherein the lines between the two are gradually blurred and the the social consequences of the proliferation of disease diagnosis that results from such ambiguities of the social medical model.
It is impossible to separate the history of military dictatorships in Latin America from the history of economic exploitation and of US intervention in the region. The history of slavery and other forced labor in the pursuit of large-scale agriculture and resource extraction in the time of the colonies has created a legacy of economic exploitation. This poverty and inequality has in many cases led to popular uprisings and calls for reform, which provided the reason (or the excuse, depending on your point of view) to use military force to restore discipline. The United States' willingness to support strong regimes capable of securing its interests in the region also has played a decisive role. These
The research topic you chose has left me surprised and interested in this health care gap currently plaguing our health care system. I honestly had no idea before reading your post that men are so neglected in health care. According to Nies and McEwen (2014), small effort has gone into creating male focused health care in our current medical environment. Without a purposed focus on male gender-role by primary care doctors this discrepancy will march forward. As community health care nurses knowing the results of studies like this can help us create awareness with in our communities.
You might well think and ask, illness are concerned only with the physical condition of your body, why could one’s illness have anything to do with the society? However, one’s health issue can affect the society in different ways, for example, alcohol abuse and obesity that decrease the morale.