Sociology 4396; Section 001

Sociology of Mental Health and Illness

Tuesday and Thursday, 10:00 am to 11:15 am

Location: SOM 2.102

The Course Instructor:

Philip K. Armour, Ph.D.,

Associate Professor of Sociology and Public Policy
School of Economics, Political, and Policy Sciences
Mail Station: GR 3.1
The University of Texas at Dallas

Office: GR 3.822; Telephone: 972-883-2734

Email: pkarmour@utdallas.edu

Office Hours and Days: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:30 pm to 3:00 pm in GR 3.822;
appointments also can be made by emailing Dr. Armour or calling 972-883-2734

The Course Goals and Objectives

This course is an overview and survey of sociological, psychological, and psychiatric

understandings of and modes of treatment of mental disorders. This course presents a
history of the treatment of the mentally disordered as well as the forces of age, gender,
marital status, race, ethnicity, geographical forces, and even political factors as they are
correlates of and/or causes of mental disorders. This course will attempt to address the
relative effect of biological vs. social forces as determinants of mental disorders---of
disturbances in thoughts, feelings, and actions. In this semester we will also examine the
societal response of mental disorders, specifically governmental policies, services, and
programs, in the United States and other nations. This course will also provide an
overview of mental health services in Texas and the Dallas region.

1. The Required Books

The course employs a textbook by William Cockerham which provides an overview of

the field of study. Two other books are to be used: one a report of a social psychiatric
clinical and treatment evaluation studies of the wide-spread mental disorder, the anti-
social personality; the second is a compelling autobiography of a person suffering from
the obsessive compulsive disorder. This self-disclosive work also provides biographies
of the writer’s two best friends, and their families, all of whom suffer from various
mental disorders. Finally, the work reports on the writer’s career as a mental health
profession, one he has been able to attain after the successful treatment of his disorder,
his hard, personal work, his education, and his family and friends' support.

2. The Optional Reading

The instructor has ordered copies of “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV-TR” of the
American Psychiatric Association for those students who would like to purchase for their
personal libraries, to employ in this and other courses to enhance their understanding of
the vast array of mental disorders, and/or use in their professional lives. The purchase of
and use of this manual is optional, though readings from it will be suggested throughout
the syllabus.

3. The Types of Instruction

The modes of instruction employed in this course will include in-class lectures, in-class
discussions with students, and office tutorials over the required and recommended
readings. Student questions are, of course, expected and encouraged.

4. The Examinations

Students will be examined by means of two, take-home, essay-type, examinations, one a

mid-term, the other a final examination. Specific guidelines for each examination will
accompany the concepts to be defined and the questions answered. Examination
questions will be handed out in advanced of the due date in time for students to ask
questions about the examination in class and in office hours.

5. Note Taking and the Use of Lap-Top Computers

Students are encouraged, in fact, expected to take notes in class and also take notes on the
readings. Students may take notes in-class by any electronic means of their selection,
from old-fashioned tape recorders to lap top notebooks. Students MAY NOT play video
or internet games, read email, talk on cell phones, or "surf" the internet during class. The
professor will “tour” the classroom during the lectures and discussions to insure that
students are complying with this requirement.

5. Class Attendance, Participation and Final Grade Computation

Class attendance will be taken for each class. Students will receive a "bonus" in the
computation of their final grade for high levels of class attendance. Class participating is
highly encouraged, but students will not be penalized for not participating when called
upon to do so if students are demonstrably chronically shy. However, their inability to
participate to participate due to lack of preparation will be noted. In the computation of
the final grade, the mid-term grade counts for 35% of the grade, the final 55%, and class
attendance, 10%.
 Sociology of Mental Health and Illness Syllabus of Readings, Examinations,
And Program Review Due Dates

The Required Books:

“Sociology of Mental Disorders”, 7th Edition, (Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006), by

William C. Cockerham, Ph.D.

“Bad Boys, Bad Men: Confronting Antisocial Personal Disorder”,

(Oxford University Press, 1999), by
Donald W. Black, M.D. (with Lindon Larson)

“Songs from the Black Chair: A Memoir of Mental Interiors”,

(University of Nebraska Press, 2005), by
Charles Barber

The Optional Book (purchase not required, but recommended)

“Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV-TR of the American Psychiatric Association”

(American Psychiatric Association, Washington, D.D., 2000)

The Dates of Class Topics and Readings Assignments:

January 8 and 10: The Problems of Mental Disorders

Cockerham, Chapter 1

January 15 and 17: Typology of Mental Disorders

Required Reading: Cockerham, Chapters 2 and 3

Optional reading:
AMA’s “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV-TR”

January 22 and 24: Typology of Mental Disorder (cont.’d)

Cockerham, Chapters 2 and 3

Optional Reading:
AMA’s “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV-TR”

January 29 and 31: Causes and Cures of Mental Disorders

Cockerham, Chapters 3 and 4

February 5 and 7: Social Epidemiology of Mental Disorders

Cockerham, Chapters 5 and 6

February 12 and 14: Age, Gender, and Marital Status and Mental Disorders

Cockerham, Chapter 7

February 19: Mid-Term Examination Due in Class or in GR 3.822 at 9:00 am

February 19 and 21: Race, Ethnicity, and Mental Disorders

Cockerham, Chapter 9

February 26 and 28: Psychiatric Disorders and Geographic Factors

Cockerham, Chapter 8

March 4 and 6: Pre-Patient Phase, Help Seeking Behavior, and the Hospital Patient

Cockerham, Chapters 10 and 12

March 11 and 13: Spring Break

March 18 and 20: Acting Mentally Ill: An Overview of Schizophrenia, Anxiety, and
Depression

Cockerham, Chapter11
Optional Reading: DSM-IV-TR , pp. 297-484

March 25 through and April 1: Acting Mentally Ill: Case of the Antisocial Personality
Disorder

Dr. Donald Black’s “Bad Boys, Bad Men”

Optional Reading: DSM-IV-TR, pp. 701-706; pp. 93-103; pp. 191-295

April 3 and 8: Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder

Charles Barber’s “Songs from the Black Chair”

Optional Reading: DSM-IV-TR, pp. 456-462; 725-729

April 10 and 15: Mental Health Care Policy in the United States

Cockerham, Chapters. 14 and 15

April 17 and 22: The Mental Hospital Patient and Residing in the Community

Cockerham, Chapters 12 and 13.

April 24: Mental Health Policy and Care in Selected Countries

Cockerham, Chapter 16

May 6th: Final Examinations Due in GR 3.822 (Dr. Armour's office) at 12:00 Noon

Addenda of UTD rules and regulations