Com 721/Spring 2016
COM 721 Seminar: HEALTH COMMUNICATIN
NARRATIVE INQUIRY IN HEALTH COMMUNICATION
Spring 2016
Wednesdays 4:00-6:40 p.m.
209 Communication
Patricia Geist-Martin, Ph.D.
pgeist@mail.sdsu.edu
COMM 244 COM Office hours:
T TH 1-2 & by appt.
Untitled, Along Route 200 East of Winett, Montana, Craig Carlson (2010)
“A respect for narrative as everyone’s rock bottom capacity, but also as the universal gift, to be shared
with others. . . . So it goes, this immediacy that a story can possess, as it connects so persuasively with
human experience” (pp. 30, 204-205).
Robert Coles (1989) The Call of Stories
“If you want the story, you’ve got to get inside the heart of it” (p. 23).
Snow scientist Ed Adams, on learning how to predict avalanches by setting them off and then
putting himself directly into their paths so he is buried alive. (Newsweek, 2002, December 16)
“Only thing you ever own is a story. Better make it a good one.”
“The Grover” played by Hugh Jackman in Australia Luhrmann, Baz (Director, Writer,
Producer). (2008). Australia [Motion Picture]. United States: 20th Century Fox.
“Illness is the night-side of life, a more onerous citizenship. Everyone who is born holds dual
citizenship, in the kingdom of the well and in the kingdom of the sick. Although we all prefer to use only
the good passport, sooner or later each of us is obliged, at least for a spell, to identify ourselves as
citizens of that other place” (p. 3).
Susan Sontag (1978), Illness as Metaphor
“To name an illness is to describe a certain condition of suffering—a literary act before it becomes a
medical one. A patient, long before he [she] becomes the subject of medical scrutiny, is, at first, simply
a storyteller, a narrator of suffering—a traveler who has visited the kingdom of the ill. To relieve an
illness, one must begin, then by unburdening the story” (p. 46).
Siddhartha Mukherjee (2010), The Emperor of all Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
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COURSE DESCRIPTION
Health communication is a field of study that encompasses theories, research, and applications of the
symbolic processes by which people, both individually and collectively, understand, share ideas about,
and accommodate to health and illness. Focusing on the performance and narrative paradigms of
communication studies, the course surveys uses of performance and narrative methods to consider health
communication across a wide range of contexts. Narrative and performance are sites of health
communication for marginalized populations, difficult conversations, and alternate means of reporting
what we know and learn through illness and health. For example, narrative and narrative performance
are increasingly being used as part of medical curriculum, as a means to train health care professionals
to understand the experiences of their patients, encourage deep listening, and foster different
professional-patient relations. For cancer, HIV/AIDS, and other patients, performance becomes a means
of speaking into mainstream and dominant discourses of health and to actively shape discourses from
their own subjectivities. This increases the visibility of health care experiences in its gendered,
sexualized, and racialized dimensions. Finally, narrative and narrative performance offers an additional
means of visibility in catalyzing change in public, legislative, scholarly and relational arenas.
Course Objectives:
1. Define the psychosocial dimensions of illness and suffering as represented through narrative.
2. Explain how the context of a person's life—including religious, cultural, racial, & ethnic
elements—are integral to the experience of illness.
3. Demonstrate how understanding, empathy, and compassion for an individual with an illness is a
practice that requires both cognitive and emotive elements in caretakers.
4. Appraise the various narrative frameworks as methods for cultivating empathy, imaginative
identification, and moral reflection.
5. Construct an original narrative about illness, wellness, health care provision, or a health care
institution.
In the process of examining these discourses, we will highlight significant concepts, theories, and
findings that have emerged in health communication scholarship. The sources for this scholarship are
interdisciplinary, but the core of our attention will be focused on the communicative implications of
health beliefs, practices, and policies, as well as the particular challenges for health communication
scholarship. The assigned readings make use of various research approaches, but most feature
interpretive methodologies and, as such, argue from a subjective perspective. I encourage you to read
these works with a critical eye and to voice your responses, insights, and critical interrogation.
The major assignment will be to develop a research project of your own choosing related to health
communication, which will culminate in a written paper and an oral presentation due at the end of the
semester. Course assignments include: (a) discussion leader, (b) building block assignments that help
you progress to your research, (c) a semester research project, (d) class participation that demonstrates
you ability to synthesize and reflect upon course readings, and (e) a memoir presentation/discussion The
seminar demands your active participation in all in-class activities. Our objective will be to produce
papers of high quality that can be submitted for conference presentations and/or lead to thesis proposals
or journal publications.
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As you will learn in this course, much of human communication is in the form of stories, and what tends
to get our attention and involvement are gripping narratives that visualize and account for ordinary and
extraordinary life problems and accomplishments. This class will focus on both narrative theory and
methodology as an approach to analyzing and understanding a variety of health- and illness-related
discourses that emerge from personal, organizational, and public contexts. We will explore the
functions, forms, and effects of health narratives—stories of coping and recovery, illness and dying,
thriving and discovery in families, clinical interactions, public campaigns, profound moments and
controversies--that eventually impact every person’s life. To do so, we will use concepts drawn from
communication research, as well as from a multi-disciplinary perspective. We’ll be giving special
emphasis to the illness narrative, how personal and observed experiences of illness and health care are
conveyed and/or understood though story format.
TEXTS
Frank, A. W. (2013). The wounded storyteller: Body, illness & ethics, 2nd ed. Chicago, IL. University of Chicago
Press.
Riessman, C. K. (2008). Narrative methods for the human sciences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Readings on BlackBoard
MY RESPONSIBILITIES
I’ve worked diligently to assemble an informative and, hopefully, intriguing group of readings and class
activities. I will lecture only occasionally, as a way of guiding us through this material. For the most
part, however, I see my chief role as posing questions as a means of encouraging reflection, and
facilitating discussion among us. It is also my job to provide guidance and feedback to each of you as
you proceed with your projects. I request that you (or you and your partner together) make at least one
30 minute appointment sometime in the first three weeks to talk with me in-depth about your final
project.
YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES
 Be Prepared. Please come to class having read the assigned materials. I do not expect that you will
like or agree with all the material (nor do I), but it is on the syllabus for a reason. All readings are
open to interpretation just as all ideas are open to debate and challenge. I hope that we will all
attempt first, to understand the readings, and then to critique them.
 Be Compassionate. This classroom is a SAFE space. Let us engage each another robustly, yet with
civility and respect. Please do let me know in advance if you need any special accommodations and
assistance for the seminar for any reason.
 Be Present. Since this is a seminar, you are required to be present at all class sessions. Please
inform me, in advance, if you are going to be absent for any given session. Legitimate absences such
as illness, death in the immediate family, religious observance, jury duty, and involvement in
University-sponsored activities--some accommodation (makeup work, excused absences, change of
grade computation) will be arranged ONLY if I am contacted before our class begins that day.
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 Be Honest. Plagiarism is one of the highest forms of academic offense. It represents several ethics
violations. It is theft of intellectual property. In academe, a scholar’s words, ideas, and creative
products represent essential intellectual property, which are the primary measures of scholarly
identity, status and achievement. It is fraud. Students should be assessed on their own ideas and
abilities; not the ideas and abilities of others. It is unfair. It introduces bias and inequity in the
assessment process, producing grades for fellow students based on disadvantaged standards and
expectations. It is corruption. It undermines the credibility of higher education by misrepresenting
the meaning of university grades and degrees to the rest of the public. Whether by ignorance,
accident, or intent, theft is still theft, fraud is still fraud, inequity is still inequity, and corruption is
still corruption. Therefore, the offense, no matter how minor in quantity, is still serious, and is
treated as such.
 Request Assistance. If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need
accommodations for this class, it is your responsibility to contact Student Disability Services at
(619) 594-6473. To avoid any delay in the receipt of your accommodations, you should contact
Student Disability Services as soon as possible. Please note that accommodations are not retroactive,
and that I cannot provide accommodations based upon disability until I have received an
accommodation letter from Student Disability Services. Your cooperation is appreciated.
YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES
I.
Semester Research Project
II.
Discussion Leader
III.
Building Block Assignments
IV.
Memoir presentation/discussion
IV.
Attendance & Participation
V.
Take-home exam
300 points, 30%
200 points, 20%
200 points, 20%
100 points, 10%
100 points, 10%
100 points, 10%
ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTIONS
SEMESTER RESEARCH PROJECT (300 points, 30%)
Individually or in a partnership with one other person in class, you are to select a cultural community
(broadly defined as health and social issues) and focus your investigation on narratives of health
communication. I am asking you to go out into the San Diego Community or into your families to gain
first-hand knowledge of health and culture by engaging in in-depth interviews with at least 10 people.
Some of you may decide that you want to conduct multiple, longer, in-depth interviews with one or two
people. You will need a justification for focusing on ONE or TWO people. For example, last time I
taught this class, a student focused all of his interview and data gathering with a man in his 70s (Bill)
who has a stroke 10 years ago, but has devoted his life to activism around stroke awareness by visiting
people in the hospital after they have experienced a stroke. So the student took the time to visit the
hospitals with Bill and to feed the ducks at Lake Murray (a daily ritual for Bill). So as you can see,
while the central focus was on bill, his journey to health, his activism to help other stroke victims, and
his daily devotion to ducks (which he believes was instrumental to his journey to health).
Each student (or a dyad) will design and carry out a project investigating narratives of health
communication. All projects are to be original, data-based projects that include in-depth interviews with
individuals that belong to a health/illness community. The objective of the semester research project is
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to gain first-hand knowledge about some aspect of health communication and culture. Possibilities may
include (but are not limited to) elaboration of a theoretical/conceptual viewpoint (e.g., the role of humor
in illness narratives); development of an autoethnographic exploration; an exploration of a controversial
health issue (e.g., medical marijuana, vaccinations, Gardasil vaccine), a cultural community (e.g.,
runners, figure competitions, holistic health practices, survivors of any illness), the organization of
health practices (e.g., integrative medicine, community health fairs, cornerstore health centers, AIDS
residential facilities, half-way houses, retirement centers), and the list goes on. People are drawn
together because of similar health and illness experiences such as: chronic illness, losing a child,
alcoholism, euthanasia, medical training, family secrets and/or myths about health or illness, preparing
for death (hospice, funeral service, etc.), caring for a parent, or their wellness experiences with yoga,
acupuncture, exercise, and other health enhancing practices. The link to organizational communication
is another potential avenue. Some organizations today spend a great deal of time and money offering
wellness programs and concerning themselves with the health and satisfaction of their employees.
Ultimately, the selection of topic should be based on one of the following: a particular author whose
research you find fascinating, a particular theory that you would like to explore, or a topic of interest
based on personal experience in your own life or that of family or friends.
While the predominant data collection strategy is interviewing, there are a wide range of other strategies
that can complement and enhance your analysis (Internet discussions, observation of clinical or health
organizational interactions; analysis of written texts such as published pathographies, news accounts,
cultural portrayals). Your project may also include observing communication, writing down the
conversations you hear, observing interactions, and asking people for their views.
All written projects will be approximately 25-30 pages in length (350 points, double-spaced, 12 font
type). Your written report will be a narrative that pulls us into the topic and engages our curiosity,
allowing us to glimpse some aspect of health and/or illness of one cultural community. All final papers
must be delivered to me no later than Wednesday, May 11, 2016 (though papers will cheerfully be
accepted before that date). The oral presentations during finals week are worth 50 points.
Final Papers Due: Wednesday, May 11, 2016 (250 points)
The final version will include:
 Range in length from 25-35 typed pages
 Minimum 20 sources cited and listed in APA style
 Give voice to the people sharing their stories
 Provide context by incorporating details of the cultural community.
 Be reflexive by weaving self in the text.
Oral Report: Wednesday, May 11, 2016 (50 points)
The criteria for your oral report include:
1.
An introduction: (a) engages us, (b) shows relevance to audience, (c) describes the focus of the
presentation, and (d) previews the points to be covered in the presentation.
2.
The body includes: (a) statement of key findings, (b) a featured narrative (one type of narrative:
performed narrative(s), audio/ video tape-recorded narrative(s), and/or guest person tells their
narrative), (c) theoretical and practical implications, and (d) what you remain curious about for
future research,
3.
The closing: (a) describe what you have learned about YOURSELF doing this project, and (b)
creates a memorable closing.
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DISCUSSION LEADER: (20%, 200 points)
One time this semester, each individual in the class will be responsible for leading the discussion for
that class period (some weeks, a student will collaborate with another student). This assignment
requires that you become FLUENT in the week’s reading and devise a plan to involve us in a discussion
of the readings, the authors, the concepts, and classmate’s perspectives on the readings. Realize that we
have read the readings so there is no need to walk us through the content of the week’s readings.
Instead, create a handout that turns our attention to the following three parts. You don’t necessarily
need to cover them in this order, but they all must be covered:
1. KEY CONCEPTS (20 points). A list of key concepts that seem most relevant in ALL of this week’s
readings. (a) Indicate source and page number for each concept, (b) Indicate concepts that can be
found in more than one reading
2. PROVOCATIVE INSIGHTS (40 points). Three insights that you have gained from this week’s
readings that connect one or more readings. These can be theoretical, methodological, and/or
pragmatic insights. Offer the insight in a statement or two, then describe:
a. how this week’s readings offer evidence for this insight.
b. why you feel passionate and curious about this insight
c. how the insights might be relevant to your own and classmate’s research. It is critical that YOU
believe these ideas are engaging and provocative.
3. ENGAGEMENT (60 points). This should be the biggest part of your presentation. Engage us in the
following ways (not necessarily in this order):
(a) offer one narrative that represents one or more of the concepts in #1 in a fascinating manner (e.g.,
a film clip, a health campaign, a song lyric, a book, a quote from an interview transcript, or
something else that fits with the week’s readings). List the link to the narrative and include a
paragraph description of the connection between the readings and the pragmatic application,
(b) offer, one at a time, two to three discussion questions that facilitate dialogue about the readings,
extending the discussion beyond the readings (not just asking classmates to regurgitate information),
(c) offer at least one question that asks the class to synthesize this week’s readings with readings
from the weeks prior,
(d) extend what we are learning from the readings by directing our attention to ONE author that is
mentioned in one or more of the readings and indicate something you have learned about their
program of research, and their contribution to narrative (A photo, a webpage, a list of their pubs, or
other visuals would be useful
Written Report: (150 points) 5-7 typed pages
 Post to BlackBoard by 3:00 before class the day you present
 For class: 1 copy for me (12 pitch font)
 For class: Written and oral rubric attached (pp. 18-19 of syllabus)
 For class: Copies for all classmates (can be reduced two to page and/or smaller font)
 In addition to the 120 points above (clarity, depth, and relevance),
30 points evaluated based on: Organization, (b) Mechanics, and (c) APA
 Evaluation Rubric on p. 19 of syllabus
Oral Presentation: (50 points) 60 minutes. Content of verbal presentation evaluated on:
 clarity, depth, relevance, and organization.
 ability to engage classmates with intriguing questions, listen to classmates’ responses, integrate
and facilitate classmates’ comments, and to NOT dominate the discussion.
 Evaluation Rubric on p. 20
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Discussion Leader Assignments, Spring 2016
(20 % / 200 points)
Week 2 (Jan 27)
_____Derek & Courtney___________________________________
Week 3 (Feb 3)
_____Aaron_____________________________________________
Week 4 (Feb 10)
_____Hallie_____________________________________________
Week 5 (Feb 17)
____ Darron____________________________________________
Week 6 (Feb 24)
_____ Janey___________________________________________
Week 7 (March 2)
_ ____Kyle__________________________________________
Week 8 (March 9)
_____JP_____________________________________________
Week 9 (March 16) _____Erika & Zheng-yu___________________________________
Week 10 (March 23) _____Jackie____________________________________________
Week 11 (April 6)
_____Feiran__________________________________________
Week 13 (April 20) _____Breanne & Lauren________________________________
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BUILDING BLOCK WRITING ASSIGNMENTS (20% /200 points)
Each assignment is designed to move you forward on your research project. We will use class time as a
workshop to conduct peer review of these assignments.
#1: Wednesday, February 3, 2016: Proposed Research Topic (1-2 pages; 20 points).
This first written assignment is designed to help you to decide on the focus of your research project
this semester. Include: (a) provide a title for your paper (the central mystery; includes the word
communication), (b) describe whose stories you want to hear and why? (c) answer the “so-what
question”—what is significant about investigating their stories? (d) describe what you see as
theoretically interesting about these stories—indicating a few connections to this week’s readings
(or any weeks).
#2: Wednesday, February 17, 2016: Informational Interviews (3-4 pages; 30 points).
Arrange an informational interview with two people that reside within the cultural community you
are studying this semester. Write a one to two page introduction that indicates (a) who you
interviewed and why, (b) a rationale for the questions you asked (include them in Appendix A—
follow APA), (c) changes you plan to make for the next interviews and why.
Write a two page story that weaves together: (a) reflexivity about your experience of conducting the
interview, (b) excerpts from the interview, (c) interpretation/analysis of what you are learning in the
interview, and (d) a list of your proposed interview questions for future interviews. Following
Appendix A, attach a full transcript of the interview and. Make sure that many of the interview
questions ask participants to recall and tell a story about a particular time, incident, or moment. Ask
them to describe, in as much detail as possible, what happened, who was there, what was said. In
this way they describe specific interactions and not just philosophies about what they believe is
generally true.
#3: Wednesday, March 2, 2016: Interview Data/Analysis (4-5 pages; 40 points)
Conduct at least four more interviews with people in the cultural community that you are
studying. Write a one page introduction that indicates: (a) who you interviewed and why, (b) the
rationale for the interview guide (place the interview guide in Appendix A), (c) what you see as
communicative patterns across the six interviews you have conducted so far, and (d) what research
question you see the data answering.
Write a 3-4 page story that weaves together: (a) reflexivity about your experience of conducting the
interview, (b) excerpts from the interview, and (c) interpretation/analysis of what you are learning in
the interview. Consider how to write this piece—there are many options as you have seen from the
readings so far. Feel free to chat with me about what you believe might be the best ways to write up
the results you are discovering. Place transcripts in a research portfolio/folder and hand it in with
this assignment.
#4: Wednesday, March 16, 2016: Review of Literature/Rationale (5-7 pages; 50 points)
This 5-7 page paper is a review of the literature that leads to your research question. It includes:
 Create an Abstract
 Create a 2-4 paragraph introduction (Gains our interest by pulling us into the 3-4 claims, states
focus of your research, and previews the parts of your paper, transitions to the central focus of
your rationale.
 Elaborate on each of the 3-4 claims that create an argument or rationale for your research focus
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Offer support for each claim from 15 or more sources.
Close the rationale with 1-2 research questions
Include a reference page with a list of the 15 sources cited in the paper in APA style (feel free to
use as many sources from our class readings as you would like—I will be surprised if none of
our readings are cited in your rationale)
#5: Wednesday, April 6, 2016: Excerpts of Transcripts/Interpretation Methods (5-7 pages; 60
pts)
Conduct at least five more interviews. You now have at least 10 interviews (with the goal of 15).
Review the transcripts several times to figure out what you see as the categories that represent what
your reader learns from the perspectives of the interviewees. Write a 5-7 page paper that:
 Describes ideas for representing what you discovered in your interviews. List and define the set
of categories that this data seems to fit into, how you could weave this interview data with other
data: observation data, archival, photographs, or other forms of data, and the structure for the
overall results of your project (2-3 pages). Some of what you write here will end up in the
methods section of your final paper.
 Offers a segment of your results section (i.e., weaves parts of the interview transcripts with your
experience of conducting the interview and interacting with the interviewee (setting, sensory
data, emotions, and reflexivity—before, during, and after the interview), and the
interpretation/analysis. This could elaborate one of your categories in detail or several categories
in less detail (3-4 pages)
 Describes what’s next. Who do you need to interview? What are you missing or not
understanding that you need to find out? What did you expect people to talk about and they
haven’t? What clues could be followed up to explore your research questions in more detail? (12 pages).
PARTICIPATION (100 points, 10%).
Dialoging about health issues demands your attention, concern, and participation. Effective
participation in class means demonstrating your knowledge and critical thinking about the reading,
showing respect for classmates who may have different views than you, and enlivening our class
discussions with examples you have experienced or read about. There is substantial reading that is
essential material. I assume that assigned readings will be completed before each class and that you will
come prepared to discuss them, taking advantage of the variety of viewpoints, interests, backgrounds,
and experiences represented amongst us. Since a seminar is only as good as the totality of contributions
that occur within it (and I am a firm believer that students learn at least as much from one another as
from the instructor), I encourage everyone’s active participation in terms of raising questions, making
observations and sharing insights, and providing feedback to your colleagues.
Participation with others who are discussion leaders is essential.
Weekly Quotes and Integration Questions (11 weeks @ 5pts = 55 pts)
Weekly (except for the week that you are discussion leader), each individual will TYPE one
quote from one reading and one quote from a second reading (or second chapter of a book) and
pose a question that integrates the two quotes and helps to prepare you for participating in the
discussion led by your classmate. The questions should be something that does not focus on
supplying an answer related to citing content in the readings, but instead asks something
provocative, troubling, or reflective (about ourselves or our projects). You will not read your
question or quotes, but you might find that they help you to be more fluent in contributing to the
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topics raised by the discussion leader. You will submit these to me immediately after class. I
won’t accept these late under and circumstances.
Participation in class (45 points).
This percentage is based on participating in class. At times throughout the semester, you will be
asked to participate in an activity or exercise. At other times, you will offer comments that
reveal your close reading of the texts. Speaking generally about a topic will not contribute to
your participation points. Instead, students’ participation includes making specific references to
the readings, connecting readings, and relating readings to your projects. I will make these
points available every three weeks. I recommend that you set up a time to talk with me if you
need to discuss ways to enhance your participation in class.
TAKE-HOME EXAMINATION (100 POINTS, 10 %).
On April 14, I will give you a set of questions for your take home exam. Your typed response to exam
questions must be submitted on line by 3:00 the following week, April 27, 2016.
MEMOIR PRESENTATION/DISCUSSION (100 POINTS, 10 %).
The first week of class you will be given a list of health/illness memoirs. Each student will choose one
to read this semester and be prepared on Wednesday, April 13, to participate in a discussion of the
memoir they have read. You have been assigned the task of identifying and reviewing an illness
memoir. In this 2-3 page analysis, be sure to
1. Provide a one paragraph summary of the memoir
2. Characterize the illness narrative using one of the frameworks covered in a class reading.
3. Describe cultural/ethnic/spiritual aspects of the narrator’s story.
4. Explain how healthcare professionals are depicted in the memoir.
5. Indicate the insights the memoir offers for how to write your final research project.
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TENTATIVE CLASS SCHEDULE
Date/Activity
Written Assignments_________
Week 1 (Jan 20)
Health Communication/Theorizing
Analysis of Stroke of Insight
Defining the Discipline
Read: BB--Dutta & Zoller (2008); Sharf (2016)
Week 2 (Jan 27)
Narrative Inquiry in Health Com
Read: Frank, pp. xi -52; BB: Bury (2001);
O’Rourke (2013); Harter (2009)
Week 3 (Feb 3)
Constructing Health Narratives
Read: Frank, pp.53 -96
BB: Pennebaker (2000); Ellingson (2012)
Week 4 (Feb 10)
Narrative Medicine
Read: Frank, pp. 97-167; BB: Charon (2006) Ch4
Harter & Bochner (2009);
Week 5 (Feb 17)
Narrative Healing
Read: Frank, pp. 169-221
Geist & Gates (1996); Sharf (2010)
Week 6 (Feb 24)
Narrative & Culture
Read: Riessman, pp. 1-51
BB: Hawkins (1999); Geist-Martin,
Becker, Carnett, & Slauta (2008)
Week 7 (March 2)
Co-Constructing narratives
Read: Riessman, pp. 53-103
BB: Plump & Geist-Martin (2013);
Foster & McGivern (2015
Week 8 (March 9)
The Politics of Narratives
Read: Riessman, 105-140; Morris (1998) Intro
Geist-Martin (2016) Foreword; Silverman & Baglia (2015) Intro/Afterward
Week 9 (March 16) Health, Families, Friends, & Support
Read: Riessman, pp. 141-182
BB: Anderson & Geist-Martin (2003);
Endo (2004); Poulos (2013)
#1: Proposed Research (1-2)
#2: Informational Interviews (3-4)
#3: Interview data/analysis (4-5)
#4: Rationale (5-7)
Week 10 (March 23) Narrating Health at Work
Read: Riessman, pp. 183-200
BB: Eisenberg et al. (2006); Geist-Martin & Scarduzio (2016); Miller et al (2005)
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MARCH 26-APRIL 3, 2016
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SPRING BREAK
Week 11 (April 6)
Health, Public Discourse, & the Media
#5: Interpretation (5-7)
BB: Harter, Broderick, Venable, & Quinlan (2013)
Green, Brock, & Kaufman, (2004); Mingé & Defenbaugh (2016)
Week 12 (April 13)
Memoir Dialogic Presentations
Week 13 (April 20)
Narratives and Art
Film: The Art of the Possible
BB: Harter et al. (2016); Harter (2013); Yamasaki (2013)
DUE:
Week 14 (April 27) Film: Wit
Questions about creating final draft
DUE: Take Home Exam
Week 15 (May 4)
Bring: Drafts of paper
Workshop on final papers
FINALS WEEK (May 6-12)
Wednesday, May 11, 2016, 4:00-6:40
DUE: FINAL PAPERS
Tangled Trees: Discretion Jeanne Dunn (2009)
Final Presentations
Home of Dr. Geist-Martin
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BLACKBOARD READINGS
Week 1 (Jan 20, 2016)
Dutta, M. J., & Zoller, H. M. (2008). Theoretical foundations: Interpretive, critical, and cultural
approaches to health communication. In H. M. Zoller & M. J. Dutta (Eds.), Emerging
perspectives in health communication: Meaning, culture, and power (pp. 1-27). New York, NY:
Routledge.
Sharf, B. F. (2016). Communicating health through narrative. In J. Yamasaki, P. Geist-Martin, & B. F.
Sharf (Eds.), Storied health and illness: Communicating personal, cultural, and political
complexities (in press). Long Grove, IL: Waveland
Week 2 (Jan 27, 2016)
Bury, M. (2001). Illness narratives: Fact or fiction? Sociology of Health & Illness, 23, 263-285.
O’Rourke, M. (2013, August 26). What’s wrong with me? The New Yorker, 32-37.
Harter, L. M. (2009). Narratives as dialogic, contested, and aesthetic performances. Journal of Applied
Communication Research, 37, 140-150.
Week 3 (Feb 3, 2016)
Pennebaker, J. W. (2000). Telling stories: The health benefits of narrative. Literature and Medicine, 19,
3-18.
Ellingson, L. L. (2012). Interviewing as embodied communication. In J. Gubrium, J. Holstein, A.
Marvasti, & K. M. Marvasti (Eds.), Handbook of interview research (2nd ed.; pp. 525-539).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Week 4 (Feb 10, 2016)
Charon, R. (2006). Narrative medicine: Honoring the stories of illness (Chapter 4: Telling one’s life,
pp. 65-83). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Harter, L M., & Bochner, A. P. (2009). Healing through stories: A special issue on narrative medicine.
Journal of Applied Communication Research, 37, 113-117
Week 5 (Feb 17, 2016)
Geist, P., & Gates, L. (1996). The poetics and politics of re-covering identities in health communication.
Communication Studies, 47, 218-228.
Sharf, B. F. (2010). The day Patrick Swayze died. Health Communication, 25, 628–631.
Com 721/Spring 2016
14
Week 6 (Feb 24, 2016)
Hawkins, A. H. (1999). Pathography: Patient narratives of illness. Western Journal of Medicine, 171,
127-129.
Geist-Martin, P., Becker, C., Carnett, S., & Slauta, K. (2008). The call to Hawaii: Holistic practitioners’
perspectives of their communicative practices of healing. Communication & Medicine, 5, 43-54.
Week 7 (March 2, 2016)
Plump, B., & Geist-Martin, P. (2013). Collaborative intersectionality: Negotiating identity, liminal
spaces, and ethnographic research. Liminalities, 9 (2), http://liminalities.net/92/collaborative.pdf.
Foster, E., & McGivern, J. (2015). A story we can live with: The role of the medical sonographer in the
diagnosis of fetal demise. In R. E. Silverman & J. Baglia (Eds.), Communicating pregnancy loss:
Narrative as a method for change (pp. 75-87). New York, NY: Peter Lang.
Week 8 (March 9, 2016)
Morris, D. B. (1998). Introduction: How to live forever. Illness and culture in the postmodern age.
Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Geist-Martin, P. (2016) Foreword: The sacred number four. In R. E. Silverman & J. Baglia (Eds.),
Communicating pregnancy loss: Narrative as a method for change (pp. ix-xiv). New York, NY:
Peter Lang.
Silverman, R. E., & Baglia, J. (2016). Introduction: The politics of pregnancy loss. In R. E. Silverman &
J. Baglia (Eds.), Communicating pregnancy loss: Narrative as a method for change (pp. 1-15).
New York, NY: Peter Lang.
Week 9 (March 16, 2016)
Anderson, J. O., & Geist-Martin, P. (2003). Narratives and healing: Exploring one family’s stories of
cancer survivorship. Health Communication, 15, 133-143.
Endo, E. (2004). Nursing praxis within Margaret Newman’s theory of health as expanding
consciousness. Nursing Science Quarterly, 17, 110-115.
Poulos, C
Week 10 (March 23, 2016)
Eisenberg, E., Baglia, J., & Pynes, J. (2006). Transforming emergency medicine through narrative:
Qualitative action research at a community hospital. Health Communication, 19, 197-208.
Geist- Martin, P., & Scarduzio, J. A. (2016). Communicating workplace wellness as flourishing. In J.
Yamasaki, P. Geist-Martin, & B. F. Sharf (Eds.), Storied health and illness: Communicating
personal, cultural, and political complexities (in press). Long Grove, IL: Waveland.
Com 721/Spring 2016
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Miller, M. Z., Geist-Martin, P., & Beatty, K. C. (2005). Wholeness in a breaking world: Narratives as
sustenance for peace. In L. M. Harter, P. M. Japp, & C. S. Beck (Eds.), Narratives, health, and
healing: Communication theory, research, and practice (pp. 295-316). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Week 11 (April 6, 2016)
Harter, L. M., Broderick, Venable, S., & Quinlan, M. M. (2013). Organizing for social change: Personal
stories and public health activism (Chapter 8). In L. M. Harter & Assoc., Imagining new
normals: A narrative framework for health communication (pp. 149-169). Dubuque, IA:
Kendall.
Green, M. C., Brock, T. C. & Kaufman, G. F. (2004). Understanding media enjoyment: The role of
transportation into narrative worlds. Communication Theory, 14, 311-327.
Mingé, J. M., & Defenbaugh, N. (2016). Navigating digitized health care. In J. Yamasaki, P. GeistMartin, & B. F. Sharf (Eds.), Storied health and illness: Communicating personal, cultural, and
political complexities (in press). Long Grove, IL: Waveland
Week 12 (April 13, 2016): Memoir Discussion Day
Week 13 (April 20, 2016)
Harter, L. M. (2013). The poetics and politics of storytelling in health contexts (Chapter 1). In L. M.
Harter & Associates, Imagining new normals: A narrative framework for health communication (pp.
1-27). Dubuque, IA: Kendall.
Harter, L. M., Broderick, M., Okamoto, K., Crawford, R., & Parsloe, S. (2016). Communicating about
health and healing through art. In J. Yamasaki, P. Geist-Martin, & B. F. Sharf (Eds.), Storied health
and illness: Communicating personal, cultural, and political complexities (in press). Long Grove,
IL: Waveland
Yamasaki, J. (2013). The poetic possibilities of long-term care (Chapter 6). In L. M. Harter &
Associates, Imagining new normals: A narrative framework for health communication (pp. 107124). Dubuque, IA: Kendall.
Com 721/Spring 2016
CONFERENCES
Submit
Conference
Attend
March 30, 2016
National Communication Association
www.natcom.org
Theme: Communication’s Civic Callings
November 10-13, 2016
Philadelphia, PA
June 1, 2016
Organization for the Study of Comm,
Language, and Gender
Theme: Trans-gressions
October 13 – 16, 2016
Oak Park, IL
September 1, 2016
Western States Communication Association
http://www.westcomm.org/conventions/
February 17-21, 2017
Salt Lake City, UT
November 1, 2016
International Communication Association
ww.icahdq.org/conf/past_future.asp
May 25-29, 2017
San Diego, CA
16
SDSU’s Plagiarism Policy
The 2008-2009 SDSU Graduate Bulletin policy1 states:
Plagiarism is formal work publicly misrepresented as original; …. Work shall be deemed
plagiarism: (1) when prior work of another has been demonstrated as the accessible source; (2)
when substantial or material parts of the source have been literally or evasively appropriated
(substance denoting quantity; matter denoting qualitative format or style); and (3) when the work
lacks sufficient or unequivocal citation so as to indicate or imply that the work was neither a copy
nor an imitation. This definition comprises oral, written, and crafted pieces. In short, if one
purports to present an original piece but copies ideas word for word or by paraphrase, those ideas
should be duly noted. (Lindey, 1952, Plagiarism and Originality)
The 2008-2009 Graduate Bulletin continues by stating:
San Diego State University is a publicly assisted institution legislatively empowered to certify
competence and accomplishment in general and discrete categories of knowledge. The president
and faculty of this university are therefore obligated not only to society at large but to the
citizenry of the State of California to guarantee honest and substantive knowledge in those to
whom they assign grades and whom they recommend for degrees. Wittingly or willfully to ignore
or to allow students’ ascription of others’ work to themselves is to condone dishonesty, to deny
the purpose of formal education, and to fail the public trust.
One of the primary objectives of higher education is to advance humanity by increasing and refining knowledge.
Such an objective is therefore threatened by students who commit plagiarism, in which the evidence of the
student’s knowledge is not genuine. Given the gravity of the offense, students suspected or accused of
disregarding, concealing, aiding, or committing plagiarism must be assured of thorough, impartial and conclusive
investigation of any such accusation. Likewise, students guilty of such an offense must be liable for an
appropriate penalty, even severance from the University and in some cases revocation of an advanced degree,
should the demonstrated plagiarism clearly call into question a student’s academic ethics, competence or
accomplishments.
1
San Diego State University Graduate Bulletin, 2008-2009, p. 35.
Com 721/Spring 2016
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THE ACADEMIC DISHONESTY POLICY OF THE SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION
In any case in which an instructor identifies evidence for charging a student with violation of academic conduct
standards or plagiarism, the presumption will be with that instructor’s determination. The instructor(s) will confer
with the School Director to confirm the evidence. Once confirmed, the student will be informed and presented
with the evidence. Some conditions and terms below clarify the School policy and procedure.
Proper source attribution: Proper attribution occurs by specifying the source of content or ideas. This is done by
(a) providing quotation marks around text, when directly quoted, and (b) clearly designating the source of the text or
information relied upon in an assignment.
Intellectual contents: Intellectual contents include all forms of ‘text’ produced by another person or persons. It
includes: writings, course syllabi, course lectures and recordings of lectures, visual information such as models,
videos, lyrics, software, etc.
Secondary citations: Secondary citation is not strictly a form of plagiarism, but in blatant forms, it can present
similar ethical challenges. A secondary citation is citing source A, which in turn cites source B, but it is source B’s
ideas or content that provide the basis for the claims the student intends to make in the assignment. For example,
assume that there is an article by Jones (2006) in the student’s hands, in which there is a discussion or quotation of
an article by Smith (1998). Assume further that what Smith seems to be saying is very important to the student’s
analysis. In such a situation, the student should always try to locate the original Smith source. In general, if an idea
is important enough to discuss in an assignment, it is important enough to locate and cite the original source for that
idea. There are several reasons for these policies: (a) Authors sometimes commit citation errors, which might be
replicated without knowing it; (b) Authors sometimes make interpretation errors, which might be ignorantly
reinforced (c) Therefore, reliability of scholarly activity is made more difficult to assure and enforce; (d) By relying
on only a few sources of review, the learning process is short-circuited, and the student’s own research competencies
are diminished, which are integral to any liberal education; (e) By masking the actual sources of ideas, readers must
second guess which sources come from which citations, making the readers’ own research more difficult; (f) By
masking the origin of the information, the actual source of ideas is misrepresented. Some suggestions that assist with
this principle:
 When the ideas Jones discusses are clearly attributed to, or unique to, Smith, then find the Smith source and
citation.
 When the ideas Jones is discussing are historically associated more with Smith than with Jones, then find
the Smith source and citation.
 In contrast, Jones is sometimes merely using Smith to back up what Jones is saying and believes, and is
independently qualified to claim, whether or not Smith would have also said it; in such a case, citing Jones
is sufficient.
 Never simply copy a series of citations at the end of a statement by Jones, and reproduce the reference list
without actually going to look up what those references report—the only guarantee that claims are valid is
for a student to read the original sources of those claims.
Self-plagiarism: Students often practice some form of ‘double-dipping,’ in which they write on a given topic across
more than one course assignment. In general, there is nothing wrong with double-dipping topics or sources, but
there is a problem with double-dipping exact and redundant text. It is common for scholars to write on the same
topic across many publication outlets; this is part of developing expertise and the reputation of being a scholar on a
topic. Scholars, however, are not permitted to repeat exact text across papers or publications except when noted and
attributed, as this wastes precious intellectual space with repetition and does a disservice to the particular source of
original presentation by ‘diluting’ the value of the original presentation. Any time that a writer simply ‘cuts-andpastes’ exact text from former papers into a new paper without proper attribution, it is a form of self-plagiarism.
Consequently, a given paper should never be turned in to multiple classes. Entire paragraphs, or even sentences,
should not be repeated word-for-word across course assignments. Each new writing assignment is precisely that, a
new writing assignment, requiring new composition on the student’s part.
Specific exemplary infractions and consequences:
 Course failure: Reproducing a whole paper, paragraph, or large portions of unattributed materials without
proper attribution, whether represented by: (a) multiple sentences, images, or portions of images; or (b) by
Com 721/Spring 2016
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percentage of assignment length, will result in assignment of an “F” in the course in which the infraction
occurred, and a report to the Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities (CSRR2).
Assignment failure: Reproducing a sentence or sentence fragment with no quotation marks, but with
source citation, or subsets of visual images without source attribution, will minimally result in an “F” on the
assignment, and may result in greater penalty, including a report to the CSRR, depending factors noted
below.
Exacerbating conditions--Amount: Evidence of infraction, even if fragmentary, is increased with a
greater: (a) number of infractions; (b) distribution of infractions across an assignment; or (c) proportion of
the assignment consisting of infractions.
Exacerbating conditions--Intent: Evidence of foreknowledge and intent to deceive magnifies the
seriousness of the offense and the grounds for official response. Plagiarism, whether ‘by accident’ or ‘by
ignorance,’ still qualifies as plagiarism—it is all students’ responsibility to make sure their assignments are
not committing the offense.
Exceptions: Any exceptions to these policies will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and only under
exceptional circumstances.
Com 721/Spring 2016
DISCUSSION LEADER GRADING RUBRIC (200 POINTS)
Name ___________________________________________
Written Portion, 5-7 pages (15%: 150 points)
Time _______/60 min.
_____________/ 150
*Copies for classmates can be in smaller font and reduced two pages to one
1. (20 pts)
Key concepts
List each reading in APA style
List the concepts under each reading, and page number where it can be found
2. (40 pts)
Provocative Insights
3. (60 pts)
Engagement
(a) Practical application
(b) Discussion questions
(c) Synthesis questions
(d) Program of Research of one author
4. (10 pts)
Organization
(a) Introduction
(b) Topic sentences
(c) Transitions
(d) Previews/Reviews
(e) Conclusion
5. (10 pts)
Mechanics
(a) Spelling
(b) Punctuation
(c) Grammar
6. (10 pts)
APA
(a) Citations in the text
(b) References
(c) All other aspects (spacing of ellipses, lettered points, spacing after
punctuation, etc.)
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Com 721/Spring 2016
Discussion Leader Oral Presentation (5 %, 50 points)
1.
5 pts Length:
2. 10 pts Preparation:
________/50
60 minutes
Fluid movement from one point to the next
3. 10 pts Organization: Effective opening, transitions, and closing
4.
5 pts Clarity: Clear description of each part
5. 10 pts Leading: Effective leading of discussion
6. 10 pts Engaging: Effective engagement of classmates in content and form of presentation
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Com 721/Spring 2016
PARTS OF THE FINAL WRITTEN REPORT
Typed, double-spaced in APA, including:
 25-30 pages
 title page
 page numbering
 reference page
 cover memo
 1-2-page outline of your paper
I.
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II.
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III.

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IV.
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V.

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Introduction (1-2 pp.)
Engages reader
States central mystery of research
Previews parts of the paper
Rationale (Review of the literature) (6-7 pp.)
Offers a set of 3-5 claims creating an argument or rationale for research focus
Supports claims by reviewing research in the area of one or two concepts
Ends by offering one or two research questions
Methodology (1-2 pp.)
Provides a justification for using ethnography as a method for addressing research question
Lists and describes each of the methods utilized to collect data
Describes method of analyzing/representing data
Results (14-15 pp.)
Weaves together the data selected to represent the “story”
Has a beginning, middle, and end
Has smooth transitions between stories
Discussion (3-4 pp.)
States the conclusions or interpretations drawn from the data
Discusses theoretical and practical implications from the data
Discusses limitations and directions for future research
Closes in an interesting way
21
Com 721/Spring 2016
22
Strategies for Writing Final Paper
1. Introduction (three goals)
 Create a first level heading that has introduction in it
 Engage from the first sentence (perhaps with a story)
 State generally the focus of research through the set of claims your rationale will elaborate
 Preview the parts of your paper
2. Rationale
 Create an engaging 1st level heading that tells us the focus of the rationale
 Create an engaging opening that pulls us in, makes us think, and previews the subsections to
follow (these subsections should be related to your 3-5 main claims)
 Create engaging 2nd level headings for each subsection
 Be sure that each paragraph begins with a topic sentence that states a claim (not a quote) and that
all the other sentences and support in that paragraph fit with that claim.
 Transition to next subsection—do not allow the title of the subsection serve as your transition.
 Do not bring data into the rationale
 Do not bring yourself or personal experience into rationale
 Do not offer prescriptions of what people should do.
 End the rationale with a paragraph that more specifically describes the focus of your research,
then transition to methodology
3. Methodology
 Feel free to create a title for this section that is engaging and includes the word methodology
 Once again create an engaging opening that pulls us in, makes us think, and previews the
subsections to follow (these subsections should be related to each of the methods you will
employ in this research)
 Create engaging 2nd level headings for each subsection
 Be sure that each paragraph begins with a topic sentence that states a claim (not a quote) and that
all the other sentences and support in that paragraph fit with that claim.
 Transition to next subsection—do not allow the title of the subsection serve as your transition.
 Be sure that you include the final section on Data Analysis and Representation where you
describe what you did to analyze your data to discover patterns and what decisions you made to
represent the data in the way that you did. Transition to Results
4. Results
 Feel free to create a title for this section that is engaging and includes the word results
 Once again create an engaging opening that pulls us in, makes us think, and previews the
subsections to follow (these subsections should be related to each of the methods you will
employ in this research)
 Create engaging 2nd level headings for each subsection that usually represents a statement of one
of the patterns in the data.
 Be sure that each paragraph begins with a topic sentence that states a claim (not a quote) about
the pattern that you discovered and that all the other sentences offer quotes from participants that
support that claim.
 Transition to Discussion
5. Discussion
 Feel free to create a title for this section that is engaging and includes the word Discussion
Com 721/Spring 2016

Once again create an engaging opening that pulls us in, makes us think, and previews the
subsections to follow (these subsections should be related to each of the typical sections of the
discussion: conclusions/interpretations, theoretical implications, practical implications,
limitations and directions for future research, and closing)
 Create engaging 2nd level headings for each of the subsections indicated above.
 Be sure that each paragraph begins with a topic sentence that states a claim (not a quote) about
results (e.g., “The results of this research lead to three conclusions”)
GENERAL TIPS
 No right justified
 Do not use “as cited in”, translates to “I was too lazy to locate the original article”
 Don’t use the word “done”. Cakes are done.
 This research is designed to investigate
 FOLLOW APA
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Com 721/Spring 2016
COM 721 HEALTH COMMUNICATION
FINAL PROJECT ORAL PRESENTATION (50 pts)
12 minutes with Q & A
____
NAME: ______________________
Points/Grade: ________________
Introduction (5 points)

Engaging opening

Relevance to audience (even if not members of the community studied)

Focus of presentation

Preview of the presentation
____
Statement of the key findings (10 points)
____
Featured Narrative (10 points)
____
Theoretical and Practical Implications (5 points)
____
Describe what YOU are still curious about / Future Research (5 points)
____
Conclusion (5 points)
____

Describe what you have learned about YOURSELF in this project.

Create a memorable closing.
Delivery (10 points)

Use of Visual

Conversational Voice

Presence (posture, gestures, eye contact)

Well-Organized
24