272 - Special Session. Vaccinations: An Emerging Area of Sociological and Cross-Disciplinary Inquiry

Session Submission Type: Invited Session

Abstract

Within the past decade, vaccination practices and policies have received increased attention and, at times, scrutiny. Sociologists have focused on a range of policy-relevant vaccinations issues—including ethics debates over state-mandated vaccination, disparities in vaccine uptake, and the resurgence of the anti-vaccine movement. This session builds on emerging scholarship by bringing together a cross-disciplinary panel to: (1) present work on diverse topics pertaining to vaccination, and (2) generate consideration of how these distinct lines of inquiry are informed by and, in turn, illuminate broader theoretical and substantive areas of sociology—such as medical and family sociology, social movements, sexuality, and social inequality.

Sub Unit

• Special Sessions

Session Organizer

• Richard M. Carpiano, University of British Columbia

Presider

• Andrea N. Polonijo, University of British Columbia

Individual Presentations

• Vaccine Choice: Parents’ Rights, Public Heath, and the Meaning of Citizenship - Jennifer A. Reich, University of Colorado-Denver

• On the Psychology of Vaccination Decisions: Risk, Reason and Things That Go Bump in the Night - Noel T. Brewer, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

• Social Determinants of Childhood Immunization Status in India: Networks and Norms - William T. Story, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

Discussant

• Laura M. Carpenter, Vanderbilt University