1.6 Readings

There are two books required for this course. Each book has been selected to correspond with one or more of the course objectives. The books are:

  1. Abraham, Laurie K. 2019. Mama Might Be Better Off Dead: The Failure of Health Care in Urban America. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press. ISBN-13: 978-0226623702; List Price: $20.00; e-book versions available.
    • I do not require students to buy physical copies of Mama Might Be Better Off Dead. You are free to select a means for accessing Mama that meets your budget and learning style.
  2. Khan, Shamus, Patrick Sharkey, and Gwen Sharp, eds. A Sociology Experiment; e-book only.
    • This is a unique “textbook” where you purchase it by chapter instead of buying the entire book. Each chapter is written by one or more leading sociologists in the fields that the chapter covers. Each chapter costs $1. If you have a concern about accessing this non-traditional resource, please let me know as soon as possible.
    • I recommend purchasing all of the chapters at once rather than one at a time to reduce any associated credit card fees.
    • Once you purchase a chapter, you will be able to download a .pdf copy of the text to keep.
    • You will need to purchase the following Chapters:
      • All of Part 1- “1 - A Sociology Experiment,” “2 - Research Methods,” and “3- Social Structure and the Individual”
      • All of Part 2 - “4 - Social Class, Inequality, and Poverty,” “5 - Culture,” “6 - Gender and Sexuality,” and “7 - Race and Ethnicity”
      • From Part 3 - “12 - Urban Sociology” and “15 - Health and Illness”

Only Mama Might Be Better Off Dead is available through the bookstore! Use this link or the link below to access A Sociology Experiment! All chapters can be purchased through the text’s website.

All readings are listed on the Reading List and should be completed before the course meeting on the week in which they are assigned (unless otherwise noted).

Many of the readings on the syllabus are peer reviewed journal articles that you’ll be able to access through the library. Being “peer reviewed” means that they are written with an aim to contribute to scientific debates. Their primary audiences are typically health care providers, professors, and graduate students. They are therefore sometimes difficult to read. Give yourself time - I don’t expect each student to fully understanding the intricacies of each article (especially the statistics included in some), but I do expect you to walk away with a general sense of the argument and evidence presented.