With a day full of rain, hail, and even thunder-snow, we elected to spend classtime watching the film adaptation of Margaret Edson’s play W;t. We decided to save our discussion of Audre Lorde, Angelina Jolie, and breast cancer for the following week, where guest speaker Dr. Janet Gilsdorf was coming in to speak about her experiences as a physician and as a breast cancer patient. I had been worried about how to show excerpts of W;t and do the film justice (I think it’s an incredibly powerful work), so I was happy to be able to show it to them in its entirety.
Tag Archives: Illness Narrative
Week 5: Embracing Illness- (Dis)Ability in the Blogosphere
Learning about autism in an English class was one of my early experiences with the intersection of literature and medicine. This week, it was especially challenging to condense a semester’s worth of studying autism and disability studies into a 1.5 hour class period. Nevertheless, I do think that it was one of the most enlightening class discussions thus far.
There seemed to be something different about our discussion this week. Autism seemed much more relatable, and more students evoked personal experiences with autistic relatives and friends. A number of students expressed feeling that there was much more to explore about autism, and they have decided to delve deeper into autism for their final projects (which I will discuss more in a future post).
This week, I was also observed by an advisor from the Honors College. I told my students that my goal was to get her to participate in our discussion, and I’m happy to say that we were successful! The class was very engaged; there were a number of moments where multiple students had their hands up, eager to participate.
When class was over, I left the room with a refreshed appreciation for this teaching opportunity. Each of the students (and my advisor) left with a new perspective on autism. In a world where everyone is touched by disability and/or illness in some way, I continue to believe that this kind of awareness is absolutely essential.
Filed under Grand Rounds
Week 4: A Literal Lock-In- The Body’s Entrapment of the Mind
To mark the halfway point of my mini-course, I gave the students the opportunity to provide feedback. In particular, I was curious about what they were enjoying in the course and what changes they would like to see made in the time we had remaining. Were the readings too long or too short? Did they find class discussions to be productive and thought-provoking? Was the class meeting their hopes and expectations and, if not, were there constructive ways that it could be improved?
I was pleasantly surprised to receive overwhelmingly positive feedback. Students seemed to be content with the structure of the course- the readings were manageable, blog post assignments straightforward, class discussions stimulating. Many found the blog posts to be a great way to kickstart our class discussions and to get them thinking about the readings. A number of students expressed their appreciation for the multiple media we explored and particularly enjoyed watching film and video clips in class.
The only concern that was voiced by one or two students was that there was unequal participation in class discussions. As with any discussion class, I’ve observed that some individuals participate more than others, but I have also been content with the fact that each individual contributes to each class session. To some extent, disparity in engagement may be inevitable, but I’m hoping to incorporate even more small group activities and more consciously make an effort to get everyone talking.
Filed under Grand Rounds
Week 3: Living Beneath the Bell Jar of Depression
As our discussion about Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar and mental illness more broadly was beginning to wrap up, I asked the class if anyone had any last ideas or thoughts that they wanted to discuss pertaining to the novel. One student raised her hand and said that she just wanted to share a favorite line from the novel. We turned to the page and talked about it, and then I realized that there were a number of places in the text that these students just wanted to share. Our discussion continued as we marveled at Plath’s grasp of language.
Sometimes, I think, discussions can work better when they escape the confinements of preparation.
Filed under Grand Rounds
Grand Rounds Week 1: Introduction, Syllabus, and Welcome to Blogging
One week ago was the first day of my Honors 135 course, Grand Rounds: Exploring the Literary Symptoms of Illness through Narrative. It was exciting to start and to meet all my students, and I’m really looking forward to an interesting and enlightening semester.
I’ve been struggling to decide exactly how I would like to showcase my course and my thoughts about teaching on this blog. For the time being, I’ve decided to focus on my own instruction materials. I might discuss new ideas that arise in class, but to honor the sanctity of our classroom discussion, I might withhold these thoughts until the end of the semester and reflect on the course as a whole at that time.
And so, here are the openly licensed materials from our first day of class:
Filed under Grand Rounds
Being Thankful for Cancer: A Huffington Post article
This Huffington Post article caught my eye:
Dear Cancer, This Is How You’ve Made Me Thankful.
Zoe Lintzers reflects on how she has observed the experiences of loved ones with cancer, and how cancer has helped her to better appreciate the simple pleasures of life: She writes perceptively about these experiences and her own realizations, presenting a convincing argument for what others can learn from disease and human suffering. Is illness something we should be thankful for? Despite the revelations that it may catalyze, does it demand our gratitude?
It was sometimes hard for me to look beyond some of her diction choices, though. She mentions the aunts she lost to cancer. Then she proceeds to tell of how “[t]here are the brave others in my family who have been diagnosed in the past six years and are in remission, having triumphed over a disease that makes our eyes widen and our hearts crumble upon hearing that initial diagnosis. But they’ve prevailed and, to me, are the strongest people I know.”
But what does this mean for those whose lives were lost to cancer? Were they not brave? Just because they were unable to successfully triumph over their disease, does that imply something about their strength?
I’m sure that these were not intentional questions that Lintzers meant to imply. But sometimes I feel that this can be the danger of using what Arthur Frank called “the triumph narrative.” It’s interesting to me how prevalent this language is when it comes to communicating illness experiences. Especially with cancer, a disease in which war is literally waged against one’s body. But there needs to be an increased awareness of the latent effects of the triumph narrative.
Lintzers does, however, successfully portray her personal experiences with cancer as both a painful experience but also an enlightening one: “Cancer made me see that this is what it — life — is all about.”
Grand Rounds: Now Available for Registration
The course that I am teaching next semester, Grand Rounds: Exploring the Literary Symptoms of Illness through Narrative, has now been posted. First year undergraduate students at the University of Michigan will be able to start registering for it within the next few weeks.
I’m excited that this is happening. I’m really looking forward to sharing my interests in illness narratives with other students and learning from their own insights and revelations as well.
Check out my upcoming course listed in the UM Course Guide!
Filed under Grand Rounds, Miscellaneous Musings
one year/one minute: A Timelapse through Chemotherapy
1 photo per week. 52 weeks in a year. 1 years worth of photos, all in 1 minute.
A powerful series of snapshots that invite us to witness the transformations of chemotherapy.
Filed under Film, Visualizing Illness
A Childhood Cancer take on Katy Perry’s Roar
Similar to Seattle Children’s Hospital’s performance of Stronger by pediatric oncology patients and staff, the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock did their own rendition of Katy Perry’s song Roar. This powerful video unites pediatric oncology patients, their families, and the healthcare professionals that treat them come together to sing how “you’re going to hear me roar.”
Investigating Illness Narratives 