Health, just like wealth, is stratified across society. In country, state, city or neighborhood some people or groups are healthy while others are disproportionately sick. In an effort to answer “why,” this course focuses on the sociobehavioral determinants and population distribution of health disparities of the United States. In this class students will examine articles, narratives, charts and graphs, to not only understand disparities in mental and physical health, but to critique them, forming opinions along the way. This course intends to provide answers to three central questions: How do health disparities emerge and propagate? How do social institutions and elements of the social environment – especially race/ethnicity, class, gender, and social relationships – influence health? and How does health influence education, income and occupational status? Fall semester, alternate years.