Introducing the Social Constructions of Race, Gender, and Socioeconomic Class in a Health Sciences Curriculum

This paper discusses approaches to teaching an introductory social science course geared toward students majoring in health sciences programs. Using the methodologies and scholarship of history, sociology, anthropology, and political science, the course explores the ways in which conceptions of human identity—namely the categories of race, gender, and socioeconomic class—are socially and culturally meaningful. The authors discuss specific classroom strategies for highlighting the historical role of the natural sciences and the health professions in erecting and reifying social structures of racial, gender, and socioeconomic class hierarchy and oppression and suggest primary sources and classroom exercises to illustrate how the social construction of identity relates and contributes to ongoing health disparities. As instructors, we urge students to consider how they, as future health care providers, might apply these concepts in clinical settings to mitigate harm and promote health equity.