This course considers the sociological dimensions of urban life, treating the city as both a social formation with its own distinctive set of logics, institutions, and practices, as well as a spatial metaphor for the problems and conflicts of modern society more generally.

The fact that people of African descent, many Latino populations and indigenous people are sicker and die younger is well-established. The typical explanations rely on diet and other lifestyle factors like smoking. In the last decade there has even been a renewed emphasis on possible genetic factors that might be implicated in these long-standing health inequalities.