DISABLED BODIES: ILLNESS AND LITERATURE IN LATIN AMERICA

Credit Hours: 3 · Undergraduate Upper-Level

What is an illness? How do we define a sick body? How can literature, films and art convey suffering and healing? How do traditional histories of medicine structure sickness? Is there a perception –and representation– of illness that can be specific to Latin American culture? How does the Spanish language address issues of sickness, disability, and pain? This course will explore experiences of illness, suffering and pain through the readings of narratives, works of theory and criticism, and the writings of artists themselves. Discussions will place the narratives of illness in the intersections with the history of public health, biomedical history, and the sociocultural history of disease in Latin America. Within the framework of the Medical Humanities minor, students will learn to recognize the value and relevance of literature and writing to their personal, educational and professional growth. There is an experiential learning component, at Aishel House Houston, associated with the course. Taught in Spanish. Previously offered as SPPO 370. Mutually exclusive. Credit cannot be earned for SPAN 370 if student has previously taken SPPO 370.