LTWR 203 Literature and Health

FULLY ONLINE
Semester: Spring 2022
Instructor: Dr. Martha Stoddard Holmes
Telephone: 760.750.8064
Email: [email protected] (this is the best way to reach me. please put 203 in the
subject line)

Office Hours: By appointment on Zoom. Open help/work sessions will be scheduled at

midterms and before the end of the semester, but please don’t wait till then if you’re confused
or struggling at all; worrying is never a good use of your time.
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Course Description:
This course, which meets the General Education C2 humanities requirement, uses literary and
film analysis to explore large and enduring questions like these:
• What are the stories we tell about health? What limitations, possibilities, and ethical
questions are created by how we imagine health, normalcy, illness, disease and the
people that inhabit these conditions?
• How do we--and how should we--respond personally, socially, and medically to
chronic and serious illnesses and disabilities?
• How do we reconcile our imagined ideas of “perfect” bodies and minds with the
bodies and minds we actually have?
• What ethical questions and problems arise from scientific and medical interventions
into human variation and vulnerability? What do we do when we lack consensus
about what constitutes a mind/body problem and whether or not it can or should be
“fixed”?

We will engage literary and film representations of human experiences of health and illness,
bodily and mental differences, birth, development, disability, aging, and death/dying. We’ll
learn or re-learn effective ways of thinking, talking, and writing about literature and film,
including basic literary terms like metaphor that are central to healthcare practices. We’ll
consider how stories of the body/mind create, reinforce, or disrupt ideas about what is
normal/abnormal, beautiful/not, whole/deficient—and we’ll explore the social, cultural,
psychological, political, ethical, and aesthetic functions of these stories.

• Some specific areas of focus include clinical settings and non-clinical settings; the
genres of fiction, poetry, and memoir; and various media (writing, film, comics).

Course Learning Outcomes (gen-ed connections bolded)

Successful students in LTWR 203 will be able to:

 Articulate approaches to illness and disability as important dimensions of human
diversity that often intersect with other kinds of diversity in experiences and
representations of embodiment.

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  Demonstrate critical and creative thinking and effective written and oral
communication through writing assignments (reader’s journal, discussion, papers, and
the final project)
 Use teamwork and problem solving in discussion and peer review
 Select and use basic literary (and some film) terminology and methods for inquiry and
analysis of written and visual works
 Identify and apply selected theoretical concepts from medical humanities, narrative
medicine, disability studies, and related fields to course materials (quizzes, journals,
discussion, papers, project)

Important Notes on the Course Format and Content:

• Many of our course texts take on serious and weighty life issues. In addition, several
films and stories include representations of micro- and macro-aggressions and other
material that is potentially disturbing. Examples include profanity, disrespectful and
discriminatory speech, nudity, violence, lack of sensitivity regarding physical and mental
vulnerability, and what are sometimes called “adult situations.” I believe that these
potentially disturbing elements of the works are either purposeful to their aesthetic
goals (including social justice goals) or outweighed by the works’ merits. I will try to
warn you if I’m aware that specific texts may cause distress. Please be aware of your
own sensitivities and consider preparing for potentially disturbing visual material or
language by reviewing film or television information on imdb.com or another source.
• In addition, please use all the resources provided by CSUSM to support you if you are
feeling stress or anxiety during this or any other aspect of your CSUSM experience:
please use the “Get Help” link to find more, or simply email me and ask me to help you
find an appropriate resource. Your tuition gives you free access to many CSUSM
resources to support your multi-dimensional wellbeing and success. I am more than
happy to help you learn more. If you are unable to read or watch required material
because of sensitivities, please let me know early on so that I can find alternate material
for you. I am very happy to help.
• Each week I will post a fresh weekly overview lecture that comments on discussions and
gives you an overview of the material for the week. I strongly encourage you to view
the overview because it will provide guidance on how to approach difficult ideas and
also address any commons issues that came up last week, just as I would if we were
meeting face to face. Plus, I may refer to your ideas, and you won’t want to miss that!
• While you are welcome to discuss in our online forums how the texts have been useful
(or not) to apply to your own experiences with health and illness, personal revelations
are definitely not required and have no bearing on your success in this course. Along
the same lines, it is inappropriate to ask classmates questions about their personal
experiences and how they relate to the material if they have not expressly indicated
their willingness to discuss personal experiences. If anyone chooses to share personal
information, we need to treat those disclosures with the utmost respect as part of a
course-related conversation that stays within the privileged space of this course.

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Required Readings and Films

Books you need to access from our library reserves link or acquire in another format
(please get access soon so that you can start reading these longer works):
1. Grealy, Lucy. Autobiography of a Face. (creative nonfiction). Any unabridged edition
okay. This book is available through our library as an e-book, but only 30 people can
have access to it at one time. You can’t download it; you have to read it during an active
session. That means you can come back and read it later when a copy is available, but
also that there are likely to be copies available if everyone doesn’t wait till the last
minute to do the reading. If physical copies work better for you, there are options for
rental and purchase through the CSUSM bookstore and various online sources.

2. ONE graphic memoir about illness.

a. Czerwiec, MK. Taking Turns: Stories from HIV/AIDS Care Unit 371. Penn State UP, 2017.
This is available to download as an e-text through library reserves link. Again, consider
whether a physical copy might be a better choice for you.
b. Forney, Ellen. Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michaelangelo, and Me: A Graphic Memoir.
Avery, 2012.
c. Small, David, Stitches: A Memoir. Norton, 2010.

Stories, essays, poems, and films available on Cougar Courses. Readings and links posted by
week; longer ones are in the Library Reserves link on the course landing page. Some options
(nothing required) are available on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video.

Grading
The course works on a 4.0 grade scale, just like your GPA. Your required work will not be graded
A/B/C, etc. or 95, 85, 75, but rather 1-4, to indicate the level at which the work you submitted
met the relevant course learning outcomes and any specific requirements for the assignment.

Number Letter Translation for This Class

4.0 – 3.75 A
Exceeding Standards
3.7 – 3.35 A-

3.3 – 3.05 B+

3.0 - 2.75 B Meeting Standards

2.7 – 2.35 B-

2.3 – 2.05 C+

2.0 – 1.75 C Approaching Standards

1.7 – 1.35 C-

1.3 – 1.05 D+

1.0 – 0.75 D Not Yet Meeting Standards

0.7 – 0.05 D-

0 F Insufficient Evidence

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Graded Assessments (Required and Counted towards Final Grade)
Assessment Percentage of Grade

Journals (Dear MSH) (5 required) 40%

Paper One Due 10%

Paper Two Due 20%

Discussion (5 required) 20%

Project 10%

Total 100%

Descriptions of Summative Assessments

Short Papers: 30% of the grade

The first short paper is due early in the course so that I can give you early feedback and you can
have a clear sense of my expectations. The second paper will build on feedback from the first
one about your analytical writing so that you will have a chance to do even better on the paper
that counts for more. Paper One Prompts are about readings and films in Weeks 1-4. Paper Two
is an original analytical thesis about any of the readings and films in Weeks 5-end (but you’ll
need to read and watch ahead if you want to do something assigned after . If you need help
with ideas, I am happy to work with you!
How to do well on papers: Review the rubric; start early; leave time to revise; use the
feedback from paper one as you think about paper two; visit the writing center (online or F2F).

Dear MSH: Reader’s Journal/Course Journal (40% of the Grade) Total of Five Required
The reader’s journal is a place to to capture impressions of what you read and watch, make
connections among course materials, comment on your learning process in the course, and ask
questions. It will help you remember what you read and think more deeply about course
content—in other words, it will help you learn. It is a great source of paper and project ideas
and may actually be a place where a first draft of your papers occurs. I will post prompts each
week that are about the readings/videos/films but also about your process as a reader and
writer in this course. Feel free to do an audio or video journal or try a multimedia format such
as a comic. Each journal has a rubric attached to it. Your Dear MSH Journals are due on Sundays
at midnight unless otherwise noted. 5 journals are required and there are 6 opportunities; you
can skip one, or you can do all 6 and I’ll take your 5 highest grades.

Discussion (20% of the grade) Total of Five Required

Every discussion is both asynchronous and has “live on Zoom” options based on my
schedule and your requests. You are required to do ONE “live on Zoom” discussion
unless your time zone or work schedule makes it impossible, and I prefer that you do
that before Spring break. The reason for this is that it will help you feel connected to
your classmates in an online course! Talk with me if your schedule precludes this.
 When you do discussion “live on Zoom,” you do not have to write anything; you just
come to discussion and discuss the prompt you would have written about.

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  You may do as many of your five discussions “live on Zoom” as you want. Please let me
know if you need a different time and I’ll be happy to try it out.

How to do well on Journals and Discussions:

 If you completely avoid a book by skipping both the journal and the discussion on it,
you are signalling your goals for the course. It is totally fine to just want to pass the
course. If you want to do well, match your choices in the course to that goal.
 Returning to an issue and developing it in a new way is great, but do not recycle or cut-
and-paste comments from your journal to your discussion and vice versa.
 Look at the specific prompt and rubric before you complete and submit your journal or
post. Write weekly in the journal to cultivate your ideas and your writing even when you
don’t have something due--and keep it in a form outside of Cougar Courses so you don’t
lose it.

Final Project: 10% of the grade

The final project is your opportunity to apply your learning in the course. There will be several
options for the project including creating and introducing an outline for an anthology on
literature and health, creating a teaching unit, writing a third paper, or substantially revising
paper one for both a project grade and a revised grade on paper one if your grade was a 2 or
below (C or lower).

How to do well on the Final Project: Keep track of what interests you in the course; look at the
samples of successful final projects from the past; make sure you follow guidelines; ask
questions; come to optional work/help sessions on Zoom.

A note on late work

I offer extensions on everything but discussion. You do need to contact me so we can check in
and establish a revised due date for you that will help you submit work you feel satisfied with.
There are no grade penalties for work done late with an extension.

Other Class Policies and Information to Help you Do Well

 Disagreeing with someone’s interpretation is fine; it can be constructive in that it

encourages us to reconsider our perspectives and see something in a new way. Wording
and evidence are crucial. “You are wrong” doesn’t incline or allow me to learn anything
(and by the way, neither does “I love that interpretation!”). I can learn a lot from “my
perspective on this was really different from yours”; “I disagree with the idea that this
symbol means x; looking at the next line, Grealy suggests it means y”; or “your post
made me think about the specific frame that created your impression of that panel in
the comic.” Please remember these principles: when engaging in conversation—
whether online or in virtual real-time environments like Zoom—all students must
maintain University’s Standards for Student Conduct. Additionally, students must not
engage in cyberbullying or harassment of any kind; doing so can result in disciplinary
action. Finally, students should adhere to the campus Mission & Principles, which
includes the Civility Campaign, which asks students to ground their intellectual journey
and their interactions with others in the principles of “self-reflection, care, respect, and
empathy, while acknowledging the culture and humanity of others.” All course
interactions should be guided by these principles. Together, we all contribute to a

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 course environment that fosters intellectual curiosity and respects diversity. Civility
means maintaining respect for other students and the instructor in all exchanges.
 If you don’t check into the course for a while or I am concerned about you for any other
reason, I will reach out to you. If you don’t respond to a few attempts to get in touch, I
will do a Cougar Care referral and will let you know that I’m doing it. This does NOT
mean you’re in trouble, nor does it commit you to using any support resources. It just
means that a) I care and b) you will get information about various supports that might
be helpful during a difficult time. Along the same lines, letting me know if you are
struggling with anything is never an inconvenience to me, so please don’t apologize.
You’re just helping me do my job.
Class policies, continued
 I will message you using Cougar Courses (CC) or email your CSUSM email account.
Please check these. When you email me, it’s very helpful if you put the course number
(LTWR 203, or even simply 203) in the subject line—I have 120 students and get a lot of
emails, and I do not want to lose or bypass yours.
 Along the same lines, while I will respond to you as quickly as possible, please wait 48
hours before reminding me I haven’t answered your question, unless it is an emergency.
 An email telling me a link or other course item is not accessible is ALWAYS WELCOME. I
am deeply grateful to those early bird students who help me troubleshoot before things
become a big issue.
 You are welcome to use “I” in papers in this class. You may have been trained in other
disciplines and other classes not to ever use “I” in a paper, and to substitute “we,” “the
learner,” or “one.” In this class—unless you are writing about someone else’s ideas or
words—using “I” is completely fine.
 Papers submitted for this class must not have been submitted for other classes.
 Papers need to be submitted using the links in Cougar Courses. If you ever have difficulty
submitting anything, it is fine to email it to me as an attachment so that I can submit
them for you. I have three courses, so please put 203 in the subject line.

Credit hour policy

The university has a credit hour policy that states that students are expected to spend a
minimum of 45 hours for each unit of credit engaged in completing the course requirements
and working towards the achievement of the course learning outcomes—in other words, for a
3-unit class, 135 hours. That’s about 9 hours for each week of a fifteen-week course, not
including the final exam period.

Time management
Because this course is online, you have the ability and need to take control of your schedule for
doing it as long as you meet the deadlines for graded work.

I have arranged the schedule to try to help you succeed, with every required thing due on
Sunday nights so that those of you who do your schoolwork on weekends will be able to make
that work. I recommend, however, that you not push all the work to the weekend. What if you
have an urgent family need on the weekend or get called in to work?

Reading books and watching movies takes time. Thinking reflectively, analytically, and
creatively also takes time, and we don’t tend to do it well when we feel overwhelmed or

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panicked. Breaking the course into bite-sized chunks will help you learn in less time, with more
joy, and with less suffering. Take it from me—I’ve tried it both ways.

Extensions are possible for everything but discussions, and it’s still possible to submit
discussions later for a lower grade. Always consider if an extension will help or not.

Strategies:
 Block out your time on a schedule for the rest of the semester, adjusting for your other
commitments and finding ways to clarify to loved ones and housemates that you are
studying (and what that means and looks like) so that you have a firm time to spend on
this class just as you would if you had to go to campus two or three days a week.
 Try to read every day in some form, either with your eyes or with your ears.
 Listen to audiotapes in bed. It’s a lovely way to end the day (but do keep track of what
you remember in case you fall asleep at some point!).
 Try reading outside.
 Turn off your phone or notifications as you read.
 Use voice memos or texts to yourself to take notes.
 Watch the movies with other adults (content of most is not appropriate for children).
 Discuss and share strategies with classmates. Students have a lot of expertise in online
learning!

Chipping away at a chunk of the work each day will work a lot better than waiting until the day
things are due, but it is really up to you. Please let me know early if you are having trouble with
this challenge! I am happy to talk with you and offer support.

Collaboration
I expect that most of you will be working through this course on your own. The course will invite
you to collaborate on discussion and ideas, and your final projects may be productively
influenced by group discussions and feedback. Please keep in mind that work you submit still
needs to be your own, and that you should cite properly any ideas not your own. If you have any
questions about that, please just ask before submitting.

Academic Honesty
Almost every semester, I have to report at least one student to the Dean of Students for
academic dishonesty. Sometimes this has been on journals and discussion—places where your
ideas are the point. Occasionally students have plagiarized people I know, and once, a student
plagiarized me! Even when it’s not this blatant, professors are pretty good at noticing writing
that’s not yours. A chat with the Dean of Students may ultimately be a positive life-changer, but
in the moment, reporting you feels awfully demoralizing for both of us--and it is completely
avoidable, especially in a course in which your professor gives extensions.

Academic honesty includes proper citation of someone else’s words and ideas. Plagiarism—the
unauthorized use of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of
them as one’s own—is an example of academic dishonesty. The guidelines for Academic
Honesty are part of CSUSM’s Student Conduct Standards. I am required to report any instances
of suspected academic dishonesty. Please see these tips for avoiding problems and succeeding
in your courses—and, if you have any questions or doubts about whether your work is within

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the guidelines, please contact me before submitting it. If you are having problems
understanding the material, getting work done, or just feeling stressed, please talk to me. I am
always happy to work with you. Please note that work submitted for other courses may not be
submitted in this class without the express permission of both instructors.

All-University Writing Requirement

All CSUSM courses have a 2500-word writing requirement. In this course, you will meet and
likely exceed that requirement through papers, journals, discussions, and the final project.

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 LTWR 203 Class Schedule – Spring 2022
This schedule is subject to change to accommodate unforeseen circumstances or correct errors.
Changes will be posted in the Announcements section of Cougar Courses.
All readings and films are available online except as noted otherwise.
There may be additional options not listed here; each week’s “What You Need to Read/Watch Do” will always be up to date.

Date Content To Read/Watch Due SUNDAY (the end

of the week)

Week One Introduction to the course; how to be successful. Watch: Introduce yourself
Jan. 24-30 Medical humanities and narrative medicine  Welcome to the course video with a short post or
(M-Sun) theories and practices.  Lecture: Intro Medical Humanities and Narrative video link.
A story about why we need stories, by a Medicine
physician-writer. Read: Anton Chekhov, “Misery” (e-text; also YouTube audio)

Week Two Stories from Doctors and Nurses: Watch: Dear MSH Journal One
Jan. 31-Feb 6 Healthcare, Emotions, and Ethics  Overview of the Week Video
 Lecture: Doctors’ and Nurses’ Stories

Read: At least 3 of the stories in the Readings folder.

Week Three Professional as Patient Watch : Discussion One! Post
Feb. 7-13  Overview of the week video and Respond. Check
 The Doctor (film link on CC). for Live on Zoom
options.
Read: short pieces by Kalanithi and Davis
Begin reading: next week’s assignment, as it is a bit longer!
Week Four Illness and the Family Watch : Dear MSH Journal Two
Feb. 14-20  Overview of the week video
 Kafka lecture/s
 Video on paper one
Read: The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
(e-text; also youtube reading by Benedict Cumberbatch)
Week Five Autopathographies: First-Person Illness Watch: PAPER ONE DUE by
Feb. 21-27 Narratives  Overview of the Week Video midnight. Prompt on
 Lecture(s) on Grealy CC. Extensions are
possible!
Read: Grealy, Autobiography of a Face. Read through chapter
three, “The Tao of Laugh-in.”

Week Six “” Watch: Overview of the Week Video Discussion Two

Feb. 28-Mar. 6 Read: Grealy, Autobiography of a Face. Read through chapter Check for Live on
eight, “Truth and Beauty.” BE SURE TO PICK YOUR GRAPHIC

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 NARRATIVE FOR WEEK 8! Zoom options.

Week Seven “” Watch: Overview of the Week Video Dear MSH Journal
Mar. 7-13 Read Grealy, Autobiography of a Face. Finish the book. Three

Week Eight Graphic Narratives of Illness Watch: Discussion Three

 Overview of the Week Video Check for Live on
Mar. 14-20  Intro to Graphic Narratives of Illness Zoom options.

One of these three full-length comics:

 Czerwiec, Taking Turns (e-text in our library)
 Forney, Marbles (rent, buy, borrow from library)
 Small, Stitches (rent, buy, borrow from library)

If you have an alternate choice you’d like to read, please

email me to request approval of it.

Mar. 21-27 Spring break!!! Spring break!! Dear MSH Journal Four
(I gave you an
extension_

Week Nine Movie Narratives of Illness and Romance Watch: PAPER TWO
Mar. 28-Apr.3  Overview of the Week Video
Watch One Movie:
 Love and Other Drugs
 The Fault in Our Stars
 Five Feet Apart
Week Ten Disability Films and Poems Watch: Discussion Four
April 4-10  Overview of the Week Video Check for Live on
 Intro to Disability Studies Zoom options.
Watch One Movie:
 The Waterdance (film)
 The Intouchables (film)
Read One Essay:
 Mairs, “On Being a Cripple”
 Read One Poem: Black, “What You Mourn.”
Week Eleven More Disability Narratives. Watch: Dear MSH Journal Five
April 11-17  Overview of the Week Video
 Intro to Disability Studies Part two
 “In My Language” (short video)
 Storm Reading (video—can watch part)
Read One Essay:

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  Grandin, “Thinking in Pictures”
 Kim, “High-Functioning”
Read One Story:
 Morrison, “Recitatif” OR
 Packer, “Brownies”
Week Twelve Thinness and Beauty as Health? Intro to Fat Watch: Overview of the Week Video Discussion Five
April 18-24 Studies Watch: Intro to Fat Studies Check for Live on
Real Women Have Curves Zoom options.
Read One Essay:
 Berlant, “Risky Bigness”
 LeBesco, “Fat Panic”
 Cottom, “In the Name of Beauty”
 Gilman, “Fat is a Man’s Issue”
Read One Story: Hawthorne, “The Birthmark”

Week Thirteen Age(ing) Watch: Discussion Six

 Overview of the Week Video Check for Live on
April 25-May 1 And thinking about the final project Zoom options.
 Intro to Age Studies

Read: Gullette, excerpts from Aged by Culture

Watch: Imvexxy commercial
Watch: one movie:
The Book Club, Still Alice,
Away from Her, OR About Schmidt
OR a few episodes of Grace and Frankie if you have a Netflix
account.
Week Fourteen Mortality and Living Well Watch: Dear MSH Journal Six
May 2-8  Overview of the Week Video
 Lecture on Mortality and Living Well

Watch one movie: Wit (link on CC)

Read: Selected poems on death and dying
Do: WGYLM exercise and Your Perfect Day Exercise

Week Fifteen Project Time! Note that writing a third paper is Watch: Discussion Seven!
May 9-15 definitely an option.  Overview of the Week Video Post and Respond to
Reread: Project checklist One Classmate.
Check for Live on
Zoom options.
Week Sixteen Submit your proJect and have an excellent summer full of Project Due
FINALS WEEK things you love.
May 16-22

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