Science, Values, and the Novel, Dartmouth College (Geisel)

We discuss novels and related writings that pertain to being a medical student and a physician. This course is now in its sixth year. Past novels have included such works as "Arrowsmith" by Sinclair Lewis, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" by Ken Kesey, "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley, The Moviegoer by Walker Percy, Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway, and Beloved by Toni Morrison. We've also touched on plays, essays and other short works by such as Shakespeare, Chekhov, Woolf, Melville, and Vonnegut. The tentative plan for this fall is to read two novels: Virginia Woolf's "Mrs. Dalloway" and Kazuo Ishiguro's "Remains of the Day." These incredible books can help us explore ideas such as autonomy, professionalism, and point of view. "Mrs. Dalloway" has been hailed by Time Magazine as among the 100 best English language novels over the past 100 years. "Remains of the Day" received the Booker Prize as the best British Novel of 1989, and Ishiguro subsequently won the Nobel Prize in Literature. They are fun, rich, and beautiful books. Supplementary readings will be covered as well, if we have time and interest. Even if students have already read some or all of these works, repeat reading and discussion are guaranteed to garner new insights and also contribute to the group's experience and growth. Also, students will be encouraged to keep their own journals, and they may want to share some of their own writings, as they are inclined. Elective only; enrichment opportunity for M1/M2 students. Note that Geisel School of Medicine’s Health and Humanities Scholars program also features monthly, student-led workshops on relevant topics. 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.