Bioethics in Literature, Case Western Reserve University

This course complements the Foundation course in the MA bioethics program by introducing students to narrative literature (fiction, nonfiction and poetry) that addresses ethical issues in medicine. The material is frequently the work of physicians and patients who narrate their respective experiences. As such, narrative provides direct insights into the practice of modern medicine tested against both accepted and controversial moral norms and serves as a vehicle for discussion and analysis of ethical issues. These issues involve topics such as death and dying, reproduction, pediatrics, women as patients and clinicians, public health and medicine as a profession and its practice as a privilege. Students will sample the work, among others, of William Carlos Williams, Lewis Thomas, Toni Morrison, Margaret Atwood, John Donne, Dylan Thomas and Abraham Verghese. The MD Program has a Humanities Pathway, but does not provide information about current course offerings. Note that this course is only available to graduate Bioethics students. This information has been collected for the Post-Discipline Online Syllabus Database. The database explores the use of literature by schools of professional education in North America. It forms part of a larger project titled Post-Discipline: Literature, Professionalism, and the Crisis of the Humanities, led by Dr Merve Emre with the assistance of Dr Hayley G. Toth. You can find more information about the project at https://postdiscipline.english.ox.ac.uk/. Data was collected and accurate in 2021/22.