How have French writers sought to portray the experience of illness, medicine, and the
modern hospital in recent years? What role, if any, does literature adopt, as its own form of
knowledge and healing, in trying to care for sick bodies and diagnose the failings of the
medical system itself? How might literature and medicine enrich each other? Short works by
key modern writers on topics ranging from mental health, autism, and eating disorders to
organ transplants, AIDS, abortion, and disability. Brief background readings in the medical
humanities. Class is writing-intensive and discussion-centered to improve French language
skills.
