This assignment is not like a book report you may have completed in high school; you should avoid summarizing or re-stating the themes of the book. Instead, use your book review to address the following three questions.
- What does the text suggest about the ways in which health is structured and shaped by social forces? That is, how does the book add to your understanding of medical sociology?
- Based on the authors’ or editors’ approach to the issues or any explicitly stated philosophy, what is the text’s underlying political and social agenda? The answer to this question should not be: “the book’s subject is…”, but rather, an identification of what the authors’ or editors’ want. What changes in policy, practice, or social structures do they want to bring about? What are they trying to persuade their readers of?
- How does the text relate to the course reserve readings, lectures or other materials? Be very explicit— citing other readings, concepts from lectures, films, or speakers specifically. What does the text add to your understanding of the issues we are addressing in this course? Just mentioning other materials is not adequate. You should explain how they relate to the book or vice versa.