BIOE 5810 Narrative Medicine

How can we use the power of storytelling to understand the medical world? How does narrative medicine help us gain insight into the myriad experiences of patients, caregivers, physicians, and other medical professionals? How do we search for and create meaning in the medical context? Why is this search for meaning important not just for patients, but for all those involved in their care? Last, but certainly not least: how can the study of narrative medicine can help us become better doctors, lawyers, bioethicists, and other professionals involved in patient care? Narrative medicine is an interdisciplinary field that uses skills of close reading, radical listening, and creativity to explore the world of patients, caregivers, and those who provide medical care. It helps us turn a critical eye on what we think we know about the experiences of patients and medical providers, as well as allowing us to examine the cultural influences on the medical system and our concepts of disease, wellness, ability, and disability. We will have lively discussions of all of the above questions (and many more) in this narrative medicine course exploring storytelling in many forms, including fiction (novels, films, short stories, poems), creative non-fiction (essays, graphic novels), as well as discussions with doctors and other medical professionals.