Assignment 2 2021/22
An essay of 3000 words which contributes 70% of the module mark
The second assignment is a more traditional academic essay. It is important that you avoid repeating any material from your first assignment, but this does not prevent you incorporating mention of the same concepts. For example, you could include discussion on medicalisation in each assignment, but you should use different evidence and examples. (the first assignment topics have been removed from this choice list and the references/evidence used within the first assignment are listed below to ensure the writer does not use these in this essay. They can however chose any one of the topics/questions from the list below)
1. What did Parsons mean by the ‘sick role’, and has growth in ‘lay expertise’ made this concept outdated?
2. Using examples, explain why some illnesses may become sources of stigma?
3. ‘Medicalisation was dominant in the middle and late twentieth century. The pharmaceutical industry now has a greater influence on how illness is treated’. Discuss.
4. How is the internet changing access to knowledge for patients, and how may this be affecting the relationship with doctors and other health practitioners?
5. Incorporating examples, provide a sociological explanation for the increasing use of complementary and alternative therapies
6. Draw upon different approaches to explaining health inequalities to discuss why these inequalities have been so enduring.
7. Make reference to literature on the sociology of the body and emotions to discuss why “care work” is relatively low paid work.
10. To what extent do objections to public health measures (e.g restrictions on smoking) reflect libertarian arguments or commercial interest?
Please do not use any of the References below when completing the above essay.
A better NHS (2013), Doctors and empathy. Available at: https://abetternhs.net/2013/12/20/empathy/
(Accessed: 23 rd March 2022)
Van Bekkum, J, and Hilton, S. (2013), Primary care nurses’ experience of how the mass media influence
frontline healthcare in the UK, BMC Family Practice, 14(178).
Ford, J, Thomas, F, Byng, R, and McCabe, R, (2019), Exploring how patients respond to GP
recommendations for mental health treatments: An analysis of communication in primary care
consultations, BJGP Open, 3(4).
Parker, D, Byng, R, Dickens, C and McCabe, R. (2020), Patients’ experiences of seeking help for emotional
concerns in primary care: Doctor as drug, detective and collaborator, BMC Family Practice. Available at:
https://dol.org/10.1186/s12875-020-01106-z (Accessed: 20 th March 2022)
Fraser, S. (2021), The toxic power dynamics of gaslighting in medicine, Canadian Family Physician, 76.
Mind (2013), We still need to talk: A report on access to talking therapies, London: Mind.org.uk
Thomas, F, Hansford, L, Ford, J, Hughes, S, Wyatt, K, McCabe, R, Byng, R. (2019), Poverty, pathology and
pills, Distress Project, Final Report, Economic and Social Research Council.
Johnson, M, Olson, C, (Ed) (2021), Normalizing mental illness and neurodiversity in entertainment
media: Quieting the madness, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge
Brown, B. (2010), The Gifts of Imperfection: let go of who you think you’re supposed to be and embrace
who you are, Chicago: Hazelden Publishing
Rivett, G. (2019), The history of the NHS, The Nuffield Trust, evidence for better healthcare. Available at:
https://abetternhs.net/2013/12/20/empathy/ (Accessed: 18 th March 2022)
