This module investigates the sociological dimensions of health and illness. It looks at changing concepts of health and wellbeing; the social context and consequences of illness; the lived experience of ill health and disability; the rise and expansion of medicine as a major social institution in contemporary societies; and the organisation and delivery of healthcare in formal and informal settings. In addition to exploring the roles of and relationship between patients, professionals and policymakers, the influence of broader interest groups such as the media, science and technology and the transnational pharmaceutical industry will also be considered. Substantive topics include medicalisation and the social construction of illness; citizenship, welfare and health; medicine as an institution of social control; the politics of disability; new medical technologies and the ‘cyborg’ body; the lived experience of chronic illness; and global health issues.