About

Andrew Elstob

I am a second-year student at the University of Sunderland, doing a dual course in Health and Social Care and Sociology. My interest in this topic is not only on the current state of healthcare in the UK (on both a societal and personal level) but also the theories and reasons for why it is the way it is. My hope after finishing this course is to either go into healthcare and take a more direct role in assisting those who need it, or to a position somewhere that has an effect or influence on this industry to examine and – hopefully – correct the source of some of these problems.

Rachel Lawson

I am currently a third year student at the University of Sunderland studying Sociology. My degree course is Extended Social Sciences (Sociology). For this blog I decided to write about the dominance of public health in society. This was inspired by my interest in theories of power which are key aspects of Foucault and Illich’s work. Furthermore, I wanted to see the extent to which public health has become an accepted part of everyday life, and how medical influence is no longer restricted to medical institutions.

Helen Simpson

Hi, I am currently in my second year at Sunderland University where I am studying Sociology. Throughout my studies there have been several methods of assessment which I have practiced, however, this was my first experience of contributing towards a blog. As this was a group blog focusing on Ivan Illich and his notion of medicalization, we each chose what topic we would discuss individually. As I have always found interest in Marxism and Capitalism in modern society, this is what I chose to focus on throughout. With little knowledge of the sociology of medicine previous to this module, I found it of interest to discover how much impact Capitalism has within health and illness, and how much this can potentially effect consumers of the medical market.

Jodie Weatherston

I am currently a third year student at the University of Sunderland studying Extended Social Sciences (Sociology). As part of my degree I am studying a Medicalisation of the Body Module to explore the ways in which sociology is linked with the medical world. As a blog was a required form of assessment for this module, I decided to write about the medicalisation of sex, female genital mutilation and designer vaginas. This was inspired by my love of global issues and previous research on female genital mutilation in Africa. Throughout the module I have particularly enjoyed learning about women’s bodies and sociological theories of health and the body. From taking part in designing this blog I have gained and developed new skills which I hope to use in future assignments and job roles.