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•     SYA 4930-3527
  

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Contact Information:

Dr. Brian Mayer
Turlington Hall 3338
(352) 392-0265 x228

bmayer@ufl.edu

Mailing Address:
University of Florida
PO Box 117330
Gainesville, FL 32611

Office hours
Mondays: 9:00-10:00
Wednesdays: 2:00-4:00

Sociology of Environmental Health

Sociology 4403, Section 9104

Course Desription

This course examines the relationships between human health and the environment from a sociological viewpoint. Using an interdisciplinary sociological perspective, we will explore the increasing number of illnesses linked to environmental pollution and disasters. Since this is a course in the social sciences, only a basic understanding of the biological and chemical sciences related to environmental health will be needed. The main focus will be on how scientists, policy makers, and laypeople mobilize and interpret scientific data to make claims regarding the link between health and the environment.

 We will draw on the fields of medical and environmental sociology to explore environmental health problems such as asthma, breast cancer, and emerging infectious diseases potentially linked to global climate change. Using these perspectives, we will examine how social structures influence the relationship between human health and the environment.

 This course will also explore issues such as how individuals and groups seek to demonstrate a link between health and the environment, the sociological implications of the scientific process, and how scientific trends influence the creation of public policy regarding environmental health issues. We will focus on the reaction of communities across the globe to environmental health problems and the organizing work of the environmental health movement to prevent future communities from being exposed to potential threats.