Themes in Literature: Mental Health and Literature

The age of social media has brought a rapid increase in both diagnoses of and dialogue about mental illnesses. Yet prejudice toward and shame imposed upon those who live with mental health conditions continues to proliferate, creating both harmful stigma and barriers to accessing resources. In this course we will delve into texts across genres and time examining how these texts reflect and challenge cultural attitudes, medical practices, and societal norms. As we read poetry by Kaveh Ahkbar on addiction, Sylvia Plath’s depictions of depression in The Bell Jar, Esmé Weijun Wang’s essay collection about living with schizophrenia, The Collected Schizophrenias, and watch some of Netflix’s British coming-of-age series Heartstopper, we will consider questions such as: What does it mean to have a mental disorder, and who decides? How have various labels of mental illness worked to control and mark individuals? What can the literature of mental illness reveal about the characters, the writers, and the societies in which they exist? And, finally, what can we do with this knowledge now? Through critical thinking and textual analysis, this class will help students understand how mental illness manifests and how literature challenges stigma and opens up our preconceived notions of mental illness and people living with mental illness. There will be weekly reading responses, a small group presentation, and three major projects over the course of the semester. No prior literature experience necessary–just curiosity!