This course will introduce the sociology of medicine and health (also known as medical sociology or sociology of health and illness), which is a broad field examining the social production of health, wellness, illness and mortality. This sub-discipline of sociology starts from the assumption that we cannot understand the topics of health and illness simply by looking at biological phenomena and medical knowledge. Thus, a main objective of this course is to enable students to describe the social, political, economic, and cultural forces that influence social behavior by exploring health, illness, and health care from a sociological perspective. The course will be designed and instructed around student community engagement with local non-profit organizations that serve social needs directly related to health. This course is open to undergraduate students of all majors.