Healthy Lifestyles
UndergraduateMUR-SOC3132026
Course information for 2026 intake
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Enrol by
- 15 Feb 2026
- Entry requirements
- Prior study needed
- Duration
- 15 weeks
- Start dates
- 23 Feb 2026
- Price from
- $2,176
- Upfront cost
- $0
- Loan available
- HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP available
Healthy Lifestyles
About this subject
On successful completion of this subject you will be able to:
- Apply sociological theories to critically analyse contemporary health issues and medical systems, including the western biomedical model.
- Evaluate major social structures such as class, race, gender, and policy, and the ways in which these influence health outcomes and access to care.
- Reflect critically on popular/mainstream health narratives, including wellness trends, medicalisation, and the moralisation of lifestyle choice
- Communicate informed perspectives on complex health-related issues, drawing on sociological research and evidence to do so.
- The World of Health Sociology
- Understanding Health
- The History of Illness
- Modern Medicine
- Complementary & Alternative Medicine
- Public & Private Health
- Social Inequalities in Health
- The Healthiest Lifestyle?
- The Kim Kardashian Week
- A History of Madness & Stigma
- Ethics & the Future of Health
- Continuum
This subject invites students to consider the ways in which health, illness, and wellbeing are shaped by social, cultural, political, and economic forces. As opposed to focusing on individual behaviours in isolation, SOC313 explores how broad social structures – such as inequality, gender norms, medicalisation, and rampant global capitalism – shape our understanding of what it means to be ‘healthy’ and ‘well’. We use sociological theories, case studies, and contemporary controversies and social issues (from wellness influencers to abortion access in the United States) to interrogate mainstream narratives around health and wellness, encouraging students to consider a more inclusive, ethical, and socially just approach to health.
Please Note: All students studying at Murdoch University will need to complete the compulsory unit, Murdoch Academic Passport (MAP100), which only takes 2-3 hours to complete online. Find out more: http://goto.murdoch.edu.au/MurdochAcademicPassport.
- Health Autobiogrpahy (25%)
- Critical analysis (35%)
- Health Intervention Presentation (40%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
This research-based university in Perth has a strong interdisciplinary focus and a reputation for outstanding teaching and ground-breaking research. With more than 25,000 students and 2,400 staff from over 90 countries, and campuses in Dubai and Singapore, Murdoch embraces free thinking, shared ideas and knowledge to make a difference, and Open Universities Australia is certainly part of that.
Learn more about Murdoch University.
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- QS World University Ranking 2025, within Australia:
- 26
- Times Higher Education World University Ranking 2025, within Australia:
- 31
Entry requirements
Others
To enrol in this subject, you must have passed a minimum of 12 credit points at 100-level.
Additional requirements
No additional requirements
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
Equivalent full time study load (EFTSL) is one way to calculate your study load. One (1.0) EFTSL is equivalent to a full-time study load for one year.
Find out more information on Commonwealth Loans to understand what this means to your eligibility for financial support.
What to study next?
Once you’ve completed this subject it can be credited towards one of the following courses
UndergraduateMUR-BAR-DEG
UndergraduateMUR-BGS-DEG
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