Themes in Literature: Sickness and Care in Literature

Health is a universal human concern, be it physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual – almost everyone wants to be “healthier” in some way. However, what exactly it means to be healthy, or to provide and receive “good care”, is a far more complex question than we might expect. Who gets to decide if and when someone is healthy? Should we prioritize individual or public health? What are we to make of our contemporary healthcare systems, with their astonishing technological advances and bewildering human failings? What does a “good death” look like in America today?

This class will explore issues of health, healthcare, and human connection by examining literary and social accounts of sickness, aging, dying, caregiving, medical systems, and new healthcare technologies. We will study a range of both imaginative and real accounts from the perspective of both sick persons and care providers, from classic landmark fiction on illness (The Death of Ivan Illych), to experimental perspectives on new technology (Zero K), to popular hits (The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey), and unique non-fictional accounts (The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down) to explore how questions of sickness, health, disability, and care are constructed differently across a range of literary forms and social contexts, including in our own work and life.  Course assignment will include collaborative close readings of our texts and some short essays comparing and contrasting thematic and stylistic elements between our different genres. This class is intended for all human beings who want to be healthy and/or care about someone: no prior experience with literature or caregiving required—a keen eye for detail and some critical curiosity about the structure of our cultural narratives and institutions are all that are needed to succeed in this course.