English 40-2 - Spring, 2021

Introductory Topics in Literature

Topic: Medical Humanities

Class Information

Instructor: Emrich, Lee
CRN: 41986
Time: TR 4:40-6:00
GE Areas: Writing Experience

Description

This course will provide an introduction to the field of medical humanities by examining the interplay of narrative and medicine. We will explore how stories and story-telling are used by individuals and institutions to detail, accept, or overcome medical, or medicalizing, experiences. Additionally, we will think about the numerous intersections of medical ethics with gender, race, class, ability, and immigration status. The goals of the course are to use stories to examine medical experiences but to also learn about how the field of medicine is thinking about stories, both non-fiction and fiction, as part of its practice.

Units:
The Literature Effect in Medicine: Reading Books/Reading Bodies
Illness
Race and Medicine
Gender and Medicine
Disability, Health, and Stigma
Caregiving: Patient Reporting; Practitioner Reporting
Medical Genres

The course will be taught synchronously, but asynchronous participation will also be accommodated through posting of course recordings.

Grading

Reading Responses (25%)
Close Reading Paper (35%)
Multi-modal Digital Humanities project on a medical narrative of your choice (40%)