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What is distinctive about approaching medicine and health as social phenomena?
Reading Guide
Tesh, Sylvia Noble. 1988. Hidden Arguments: Political Ideology and Disease Prevention Policy. New Brunswick,
NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Overall Impressions:
What is distinctive about approaching medicine and health as social phenomena?
- What did you find most interesting in the book? Did anything in the book lead you to try to learn
more? What did you learn that helped to change your understanding of the social world? Was there
anything that surprised you? What? If I asked you, “What’s this book about?” what would you say?
Specifics: - What is distinctive about approaching medicine and health as social phenomena? How does Tesh
make the case for this argument? What kinds of questions does such an approach make us ask about
“modern” health care, the experience of illness, and the role of health professionals, and medical
institutions? - Tesh identifies 4 main 19th-century theories of health. Which of these theories do you think still holds
power over the way we think today? - What are “multi-causal solutions,” according to Tesh? What are some of the strengths and weaknesses
of this approach? - What were some of the main issues associated with Agent Orange? Do you think something like this
could happen again? Is it happening now? - Do you think that the air traffic controller’s stress at work is an occupational hazard? In your opinion,
are boring low stress jobs bad for health? What would your ideal be?
Please include:
- A full reference citation for this book.
- Your name.
- Remember that quotations taken directly from a text should have quotation marks at the beginning and end
and the authors’ last name, date and page numbers follow the end quote. - Example:
After the magazine article first appeared, until the 1970’s, “the woman behind the HeLa cells would be
known most often as Helen Lane, and sometimes as Helen Larson, but never as Henrietta Lacks. And
because of that, her family had no idea her cells were alive” (Skloot 2010: 109).
The papers should be at least 1250 words (approx. 5 pages double spaced). Please use Times New Roman
font, 10-12 point.
