L142, like L141, is an introduction to college-level reading, writing,
and literary interpretation.  This section will focus on the personal
and cultural aspects of medicine.

In the last half century or so, medicine has risen rapidly in cultural
prominence to the point that it powerfully affects both our material
world and our inner world, including the images we have of ourselves
and of humanity.  Being sick and healing the sick are experiences that
reach beyond technical and narrow professional matters to engage our
emotions, our moral and ethical sense, and our metaphysics.  In this
course we will explore these "human" dimensions of medicine by reading
(and viewing) and discussing a selection of works that emphasize the
cultural and experiential aspects of illness, healing, and medical
practice.

Writing requirements will probably include four papers on the
readings, films, and lectures and a number of short exercises to
prepare for the papers.  There may be a midterm and final on broader
themes, and there probably will be weekly quizzes to check on the
basics of critical reading.  The papers and exams will account for
about 80% of the final grade, and the paragraphs, quizzes, and class
participation will make up the remaining 20%.  Some possible readings:
Foster and Swander, THE HEALING CIRCLE; Henrik Ibsen, AN ENEMY OF THE
PEOPLE; Susanna Kaysen, GIRL, INTERRUPTED; Joyce Wadler, MY BREAST.
We will probably see three or four films.

We will spend a good deal of time on writing, the structure of
narratives of all kinds, and the process of interpretation.  Students
should finish the course with improved writing and discussion skills,
a sharpened critical understanding of written and visual texts, and a
more informed sense of medicine's many non-technical sides.