Sociology is both an academic discipline and a perspective that empowers us to be critical observers of everyday life and the world around us. We will explore how to think and reason sociologically, then examine various social institutions (education, family, religion, etc.) and social constructs (gender, race, class, etc.) which shape our lives and experiences. Throughout the course, we will use sociological understandings of health and medicine, including medical school, the profession of medicine, health and healthcare policy, and health disparities to illustrate core sociological theory and concepts.