Illness in Literature

3 units

Representations of illness in art influence our experience of illness. This course will begin with a look at philosophical and sociological studies of illness, including writing by Susan Sontag, Elaine Scarry, Floyd Skloot, and Barbara Ehrenreich. These writers try to imagine ways around the pervasive moralizing of illness. Thinking critically about the language we use to describe illness and the ways we try to make illness culturally meaningful, we will then turn to representations of illness in literature, reading short works from Henry James to Lorrie Moore. Films will include Wit and Rent. Throughout the course we will ask how representing illness demands new forms of expression.