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This seminar draws on literature in sociology and science and technology studies (STS) to explore the social dimensions of medicine, health and illness. In this seminar, we will explore how definitions, experiences, and treatments of health and illness are shaped by cultural contexts, inequalities, institutional practices, and health care policies. We will examine social trends in medical knowledge and practice as well as how illness categories are created, negotiated, and resisted. As a participant in this course, you will gain the ability to assess changes in the social organization of medicine as well as think critically about the role that different kinds of expertise play in medical knowledge.