Narratives of Illness, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston

A study of the changing nature and importance of narratives of illness. Focus will be on the historical development of patients' autobiographical narratives of illness (pathographies); the historical development of physicians' narratives of patients' illnesses (expanded case histories); and representative contemporary patients' narratives of illness that exemplify different forms and styles. Special attention will be given to theoretical background works about pathographies (Anne Hunsaker Hawkins) and the first-person narrative of illness (Arthur Frank). Course grades will be determined by the quality of participation in class discussion of assigned readings (20%), two assigned essays about course readings (20% each), and a final course paper (40%). 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.