Social Foundations of Medicine (SFM)

Fritz Kahn, Man as Industrial Palace, 1927

Social Foundations of Medicine is transthematic, connecting all four themes of the medical school. It draws on a range of disciplines within the social sciences, including medical anthropology, medical history, medical sociology and medical humanities. In the first year, basic theoretical material is covered in lecture format. In second year, a number of joint seminars are arranged in the four themes, covering material with more clinical application. In third and fourth year, the focus of Social Foundations of Medicine moves to reflective experience, with a range of self-directed and didactic opportunities to reflect on and apply a social perspective to clinical experiences.

There is no prescribed textbook for Social Foundations of Medicine. Students interested in exploring the kinds of themes addressed in this
teaching may find the following books interesting.

• Anne Fadiman (1997) The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. Farrar, Strauss, Giroux, New York. A case study of the collision of western and non-western health care.
• Paul Farmer (2003) Pathologies of Power. University of California Press, Berkeley. An infectious disease physician and anthropologist makes a passionate case for equality of health care for the poor, and explores the political and social obstacles to this.
• John Berger and Jean Mohr (1967) A Fortunate Man. Vintage International Edition, New York (1997) A classic literary insight into the working life of a country doctor.

Dr Christine Phillips
Email: christine.phillips@anu.edu.au