The practice of medicine is powerfully influenced by cultural assumptions. This course will inquire into the culture of current Western medicine through the reading of literature, including non-fiction essays, fiction (including Pat Barker’s The Ghost Road) poetry and drama (including Margaret Edson’s Wit and Tony Kushner’s Angels in America). We will consider the perspectives of patients and families as well as those of health care providers. Requirements include a reading journal (one entry per class) and two longer (4-5 page) papers.

Required Texts:

Wit, Margaret Edson

The Ghost Road, Pat Barker

Angels in America, Tony Kushner

The Social Medicine Reader, 2nd ed., volume I (Duke University Press)