Freshman Honors Seminar
Fall 2014
Wednesday, 4:55 – 7:25 p.m.
Location: 194 Mercer, Rm.303
Dr. Michele Shedlin
New York University
College of Nursing, 726 Broadway, 10th Fl.
(212) 998-5714, mshedlin@nyu.edu
Suffering and Comfort in Narrative Medicine
FRSEM-UA 393.001.FA14
Course Description:
The purpose of this seminar is to explore the nature of suffering and comfort, coping and
resilience. Scientific advances create heretofore unimaginable opportunities, choices, and
dilemmas for all of us as we seek to discern how to cope with disease, human suffering, and the
psychological consequences that are inevitable when illness and care needs create complexity
in our lives. To explore these issues, we will examine related readings from many sources,
including current newspaper and magazine articles, novels, poetry and religious texts. This will
guide our discussions on the cultural differences and historical changes in the way individuals
think about these important dimensions of the human experience. We will also discuss a
number of case studies written by eloquent individuals who have experienced and described
their difficult and inspiring journeys. Students will become familiar with the perspectives of
physicians, nurses and clergy as they assist patients and families through the experiences of
illness and loss which are continually balanced between suffering and comfort.
Readings and Written Assignments (Guidelines to be distributed in class):
Fadiman Essay Questions: 10%
Public Suffering and Illness Think Piece: 10%
Midterm Essay Exam: 25%, (open book)
Final Essay Exam: 30% (open book)
Class Participation: 25%
1. Wednesday, 9/3: Introductions, to each other and to the seminar. Review syllabus.
Assignment: Bring to class a definition of Narrative Medicine and include your source.
Read and come prepared to discuss: Cousins, N. (1979). Anatomy of an illness as perceived
by the patient: Reflections on healing and regeneration. New York: Norton.
2. Wednesday, 9/10: Assignment: Read and be prepared to discuss Didion, J. (2005). The year
of magical thinking. New York: Random House. [We will have a brief presentation of APA
format for your assignments]
3. Wednesday, 9/17: Assignment: Read and be prepared to discuss: Watts, D. (2005). Bedside
manners: One doctor’s reflections on the oddly intimate encounters between patient and
healer. New York: Three Rivers Press.
Each student will be asked to describe a situation where they thought bedside manners/patient
provider interactions could have been improved.
4. Wednesday, 9/24: Assignment: Read Fadiman, A. (1997). The spirit catches you and you
fall down: A Hmong child, her American doctors, and the collision of two cultures (1st ed.).
New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. [You may omit Chapters 10,12,14,16]. Answer
questions #3; #4; #5; #6; #7;#8; #10; #20 and #21 at the end of the book.
Your answers will be the basis of class discussion and will be turned in at the end of class.
5. Wednesday, 10/1: Be prepared to discuss the following articles: Cassel, E. (1982).The
nature of suffering and the goals of medicine. New England Journal of Medicine, 306, 639-645.
and Henon, A. (2011, June 13 & 20). The Aquarium. New Yorker, 50-61. Iyer, P. (2013,
September 7). The value of suffering. The New York Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com.
6. Wednesday, 10/8: Assignment: Read and be prepared to discuss: Kushner, H. S. (2001).
When bad things happen to good people: New York: Schocken Books.
Be prepared to discuss the following questions: Is psychological suffering more painful than
physical suffering? Is the comfort involved in psychological pain easier or more difficult than the
comfort involved in relieving physical pain? Choose a position and defend it using the literature
you have read so far.
7. Wednesday, 10/15: We will be discussing how addiction to drugs and alcohol causes
psychological and physical suffering for users and their families. Assignment: Read and be
prepared to discuss Styron, W. (1990) Darkness visible: A memoir of madness: New York,
Vintage Books. We will discuss this issue from the providers’ viewpoint in treating patients with
substance abuse issues and from the perspective of the recovering addict. Read also, Sacks,
O. (2012, August 27). Altered states: self-experiments in chemistry. The New Yorker, 40-47.
Film: “Is Mommy Allright”: Mothers, Drugs and Children.
8. Wednesday, 10/22: Midterm Essay Exam: in-class, open book, based on the readings and
class discussions to date.
9. Wednesday, 10/29: Prepare a 2-3 page think piece on Public Illness and Suffering, using
articles from current media such as magazines, newspapers, Science Sections of the New York
Times, TV programs. We will discuss these in class.
10. Wednesday, 11/5: Review a religious text of your choice, and bring your notes to discuss a
section that reflects comfort and suffering. We will discuss whether the 21st century has made
progress since ancient times in our capacity to interface with mankind in the state of suffering.
Dean James Pace, NYU College of Nursing will join us for the discussion.
11. Wednesday, 11/12: Assignment: Read and come prepared to discuss Kübler-Ross, E.
(1969). On death and dying. New York: Macmillan and New York Times article “Keeping Them
Company at the End “. We will discuss challenges to her theory of stages with a nurse expert in
palliative care, Dorothy Wholihan from the NYU College of Nursing.
12. Wednesday, 11/19: Assignment: Read and respond to the suggested discussion questions
for Nuland, S. B. (1994). How we die: Reflections on life's final chapter (1st ed.). New
York: Knopf. (2 pp)
*13. Wednesday, 11/26: Assignment: Read and be prepared to discuss: Groopman, J. E.
(2004). The anatomy of hope: How people prevail in the face of illness (1st ed.). New York:
Random House.; Review of the materials covered for the final exam.
14. Wednesday, 12/3: Final exam
All books have been ordered for the NYU Bookstore.
_____________________________________________
Required Readings:
Cousins, N. (1979). Anatomy of an illness as perceived by the patient: Reflections on healing
and regeneration. New York: Norton.
Didion, J. (2005) The year of magical thinking. New York: Random House.
Fadiman, A. (1997). The spirit catches you and you fall down: A Hmong child, her American
doctors, and the collision of two cultures (1st ed.). New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.
Groopman, J. E. (2004). The anatomy of hope: How people prevail in the face of illness (1st
ed.). New York: Random House.
Kübler-Ross, E. (1969). On death and dying. New York: Macmillan.
Kushner, H. S. (2001). When bad things happen to good people: With a new preface by the
author (20th anniversary ed.). New York: Schocken Books.
Nuland, S. B. (1994). How we die: Reflections on life's final chapter (1st ed.). New York: A.A.
Knopf: Distributed by Random House, Inc.
Styron, W. (1990) Darkness visible: A memoir of madness. New York: Vintage Books
Watts, D. (2005). Bedside manners: One doctor’s reflections on the oddly intimate encounters
between patient and healer. New York: Three Rivers Press.
Extra Credit:
The bookstore has copies of The Best of the Bellevue Literary Review (2008), edited by
Danielle Ofri. The short stories and poetry in this volume will enrich your experience of this
course and contribute in important ways to your class discussions and exams.
Hadas, R. (2011). Strange relations. Philadelphia: Paul Dry Books, Inc.
The New York Times Science Section (Tuesdays)
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Students with Disabilities: Students with qualified disabilities who wish to request
reasonable accommodations must register with the Henry and Lucy Moses Center for Students
with Disabilities (CSD). Qualifying disabilities may include cognitive, physical, sensory and
psychiatric disabilities, as well as chronic health conditions. The Moses Center staff are
available for consultation regarding the definition of disability, the decision to register the
disability and the registration process. Please refer to the following web link at:
http://www.nyu.edu/life/safety-health-andwellness/students-with-disabilities.html for
information. Also, refer to the latest Academic Bulletin at: http://nursing.nyu.edu/academicbulletin.