Description
This course focuses on literature related to health and medicine. From darkly comic narratives of the Black Plague through the rise and fall of hysteria to depictions of the AIDS crisis and modern pandemics like the Spanish Flu and COVID-19, this course examines literature centered on medical practices and their impacts on communities, individuals, and culture from the early modern period through contemporary times. Medical issues explored in the literature will range widely: disease, medical ethics, mental illness, death and dying, pain and suffering, physical disability, aging, cognitive differences, and gender fluidity and identity are all possible areas of discussion.
Prerequisites
"C" or higher in ENG 100.
Course Student Learning Outcomes (CSLOs)
- Place and explain literary works within their historical and cultural contexts.
- Connect the themes expressed in literature to their own experiences.
- Analyze key aspects of literature, such as how fiction writers use plot, character, setting, point of view, symbolism, and theme, and how poets use imagery, musical devices, diction, form, and tone.
- Use common terms and concepts appropriate to the study of literature and the discussion of human diseases, medical procedures, and natural processes.
- Write engaging and well-supported essays using analysis and synthesis to explore literary themes.
- Analyze the emotional, psychological, social, and ethical aspects of medical situations shown in literature drawn from various cultures.