Best writers. Best papers. Let professionals take care of your academic papers

Order a similar paper and get 15% discount on your first order with us
Use the following coupon "FIRST15"
ORDER NOW

SOCIOL 703: Sociology of Mental Health

/in /by

General course information
This course is taught through a weekly three hour session consisting of both a lecture and discussion (though at postgraduate level, the two are very much combined). The University’s general expectation is that each postgraduate course requires an average of twenty hours work per week. This includes attendance at each session, reading of the required texts, and additional study towards reaching the learning outcomes, and successfully completing the related assignments.
Course objectives
By the end of the course, students will be able to:

  • Critically evaluate medicine’s and psychiatry’s focus on behaviour considered ‘sick’ or ‘abnormal’ as part of the more general process of modernity.
  • Critically assess medicine and psychiatry as social, economic, cultural and political -as well as medical- projects.
  • Critically evaluate the profession of psychiatry through use of relevant social and sociological theory.
  • Place medicine and psychiatry within its wider social, cultural, economic and political contexts.
  • Critically debate current key topics within the sociology of medicine and mental health.

To achieve the course objectives you will need to:

  • Attend the weekly sessions.
  • Read and understand the compulsory readings.
  • Take an active role in the weekly sessions.
  • Research your assignments thoroughly, drawing on appropriate literature and social theory in the area.
  • Complete your assignments on time.

Course assessments
The assignments for this course are: First Essay Proposal (10%), First Essay (40%), Second Essay Proposal (10%), and Second Essay (40%)
Note: It is strongly recommended that students discuss their proposed essay topics with the Lecturer well in advance of the substantive writing periods.
Summary of deadlines/assignments:

  • By 6pm on Friday 22 March: Upload* First Essay Proposal (10%): 1,000 word proposal for a critical essay on the history of psychiatry using a topic of your own choosing.
  • By 6pm on Monday 15 April: Upload* First Essay (40%): 5,000 word socio-historical essay on psychiatry using a topic of your own choosing.
  • By 6pm on Friday 10 May: Upload* Second Essay Proposal (10%): 1,000 word proposal for a project essay on a sociology of mental health topic of your own choosing.
  • By 6pm on Wednesday 5 June: Upload* Second Essay (40%): 5,000 word project essay on a sociology of mental health topic of your own choosing.

*Please note that there is no physical hand-in of assignments for this course. Instead, all assignments must be uploaded to Turnitin via the SOCIOL 703 Campus page. Once marked, comments and feedback will be available through accessing your assignment on Turnitin.
First Essay Proposal (10% of final mark)
Due by 6pm on Friday 22 March
A 1,000 word proposal for an essay on the history of psychiatry using a topic of your own choosing.
This assignment encourages you to plan your essay and carry out initial background research systematically and with a clear focus; the feedback you will receive from this assignment will help you successfully complete the essay itself.
See the ‘First Essay’ details below for the required focus of this assignment. The proposal should outline the rationale for undertaking this essay, including clarification as to why the topic chosen is sociologically relevant and useful to investigate. Central to the proposal will be a brief summation of your main argument – typically, this will include reference to the ‘official account’ (including the ‘official history’) on the topic as well as alternative views from sociological and associated scholars (including alterative/critical historical accounts). The proposal also needs to consider why the discussion in your essay is of relevance to contemporary study in the sociology of mental health. The structure of the proposal can vary, though some may wish to follow a typical structure used by academic journals for abstracts (e.g. introduction, background, results, discussion, conclusion, etc.).
First Essay (40% of final mark)
Due by 6pm on Monday 15 April
A 5,000 word socio-historical essay on psychiatry using a topic of your own choosing.
A critical grounding in the history of psychiatry is crucial to conceptualising the current character and status of psychiatry and the mental health system in western society. For this assignment you will need to choose a topic that allows you to explore the socio-historical development of psychiatric professionals as the experts within the field of mental health and/or their medical technologies/practices as appropriate responses to forms of mental illness. In this assignment you will need to include both ‘official’ and ‘alternative’ accounts of such histories. This means, including commentators who support a scientific view of psychiatry as ‘objective’, ‘progressive’, and truth-seeking, and those -especially from sociology and associated disciplines- who have questioned such ideas. You will also need to contextualise your account within the current workings of psychiatry and the mental health system, giving some implications from your study for the sociology of mental health.
Please be as specific as possible with the focus for your essay: ‘women and the medical gaze’, for example, is far too broad a topic for research, whereas an essay on ‘the medicalisation of the housework’ is much more likely to succeed.
Second Essay Proposal (10% of final mark)
Due by 6pm on Friday 10 May
A 1,000 word proposal for a project essay on a sociology of mental health topic of your own choosing.
This assessment has the same basic requirements as the ‘First Essay Proposal’ (see above), but please see ‘Second Essay’ details below for the required focus of the essay.
Second Essay (40% of final mark)
Due by 6pm on Wednesday 5 June
A 5,000 word project essay on a sociology of mental health topic of your own choosing.
Your essay must be on a topic or sub-topic from within the sociology of mental health, and must be on a substantially different topic to your first essay. You can choose something related to a topic we have covered on this course, but please feel free to develop your own ideas.
Again, narrow your topic and be quite specific about what you are proposing to study, including questions to answer in your work. Researching a topic as broad as ‘medication and mental health’, for example, is unlikely to succeed, whereas ‘Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) and productivity in the workplace’ is more likely to.
Important notes on the completion of assessments
In line with International Sociological Association policy, the use of sexist, racist or homophobic language will not be tolerated on this course.
In completing your assignments successfully you should:

  • include a full title at the beginning of each assessment which clearly outlines your research topic;
  • demonstrate a clear structure within your first and second essays, including the clear marking/naming of different sections;
  • have a clear and specific research focus;
  • include specific thinkers, theorists, texts, sources and examples;
  • include a minimum of 20 academic references (e.g. journal articles, books, chapters) in both your first and second essays;
  • use good English, with appropriate punctuation, avoiding slang and abbreviations;
  • include a bibliography which contains all the references used in the main text of your assignments;
  • comply with APA or Harvard referencing styles;
  • include a word count total at the end of each assignment.

Please note that marks will be deducted for lateness, for being more than 10% under or over the word limit, and for poor referencing (both in-text and end reference list).
Please plan your background research and writing appropriately. I will no longer accept assessments for marking if they are over a week late – in these cases the work will receive no mark.
Please check your assignment matching score in advance on Turnitin (you can re-submit your assignment on Turnitin up until the official deadline date/time). Assignments with a match score higher of 40% or higher on Turnitin will receive no mark.
Course readings
Please see the SOCIOL 703 ‘Reading Lists’ page on Canvas to access the mandatory weekly course readings. There is no hard copy reader or text book for this course.
Additional readings and sources can be found in the library (see following section for additional weekly readings; the section after that has a large selection of sociology of mental health references and sources to help with your essay work).

 
Looking for a Similar Assignment? Order now and Get 10% Discount! Use Coupon Code "Newclient"