Race, Narrative, and Medicine: Descripting African American Bodies, Columbia University

This course explores representations of the impact of structural racism on health and health outcomes. In this endeavor, this course examines historical issues and theories, emphasizes critical analysis and the application of knowledge, and asks critical questions about authors’ decisions to depict illness and health in specific ways. Scholarly readings in the areas of narrative and critical race theory will not only illuminate the relationship between social conditions and health outcomes but also provide the necessary insights and concepts to articulate how authors and directors represent health risks and outcomes in cultural contexts. Written and visual texts will provide a context for reflecting on specific personal and cultural experiences with structural racism and the narrative strategies that authors employ to depict the effects of structural racism on African American bodies. This course contributes to the Master of Science in Narrative Medicine Program. 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.