In this course, we will read, think, and talk about health, science, and medicine, and we will explore what happens when we face the messiness of language, history, economics, and politics. Throughout the course, we will examine fiction, nonfiction, narrative, and metaphor. The course has four sections. We begin by reading and writing about pandemics and metaphors, juxtaposing the film Contagion and the more literary play and film, Angels in America. We will explore the history of HIV/AIDS and consider how tragedy can inspire art. Next, we will read two novels about the ethical care and its absence: The Heart and Never Let Me Go. Later, we will examine pre-Covid debates about vaccines, science skepticism, and empathy. In On Immunity: An Inoculation, the essayist Eula Biss explores the narratives that have shaped our thinking about health and what we owe to others. The course will close with a haunting text about addiction and anxiety at the turn of the millennium, My Year of Rest and Relaxation. In this seminar, students will be active learners as they read, write, and demonstrate attention, curiosity, and careful thought.
About Professor Jurecic
Ann Jurecic is an Associate Professor of English at Rutgers University. Her first book, Illness as Narrative(University of Pittsburgh Press, 2012), charts the emergence of personal writing about illness in the twentieth century. Changing Minds: Women and the Political Essay, 1960–2000 explores the essay's transformations (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2023). She has coauthored three editions of Habits of the Creative Mind(Bedford/St. Martin's, 2023), a guide for essayists. Professor Jurecic has also written literary book reviews for The Lancet.