An Anthropology of Graphic Medicine
HASS 102 – McSweeny McCauley Teaching In Excellence Seminar
Prof. Juliet McMullin, PhD
Fall 2014
email:
Seminar: M 4:10-7pm WAT 1347
Office: Watkins Hall 1344
Office hours: Wed 1-3pm
phone:
Course Description:
The field of graphic medicine is a new and vibrant community of comics artists, humanities
scholars, public health and health professionals. Graphic medicine is a term coined by
physician, cartoonist, and medical humanities scholar Ian Williams and is defined as “the
role that comics can play in the study and delivery of healthcare” (Graphicmedicine.org
2013). Williams launched the graphic medicine website in 2007 as an effort to recognize
the increasing number of illness narratives in comic form since the mid 1990s. This class
will take an anthropological lens to the field of graphic medicine and the graphic narratives
that constitute the material of interest for GM. Examining the intersections of the
“ordinary, chronic, and cruddy” and how they are entangled in biomedical hegemonies and
medical technologies in the context of late liberalism, we will consider how graphic
narratives are embedded in processes of biomedicalization, how the narratives are
empowering or fostering conditions of endurance or exhaustion, and what anthropology
and its methods can contribute to GM. Importantly, while the medium we are examining is
visual, we are particularly interested in how graphic narratives intersect with scholarly
conversations in the study of illness narratives and narrative medicine.
Readings:
All readings are required. Students are expected to complete all reading assignments
before coming to the lecture on the day for which the readings are assigned.
Required Texts:
 Povinelli, Elizabeth (2011) Economies of Abandonment: Social Belonging and
Endurance in Late Liberalism. Durham: Duke University Press. (this text is
available online – library.ucr.edu)
 B., David. (2005) Epileptic. Translated by Kim Thompson. New York: Pantheon
Books.
 Barry, Lynda (2005) One Hundred Demons. Seattle: Sasquatch Books
 Small, David (2010) Stitches: A Memoir. New York: WW Norton and Company
 Spiegleman, Art (1991) Vols 1 & 2 Maus: A Survivor’s Tale. New York: Penguin
Books
Optional:
 Franklin, Eroyn. (2011) Detained. http://eroynfranklin.com/books/detained/
 Ware, Chris (2012) Building Stories. New York: Pantheon Books
All other course readings are available on ilearn. They are categorized by week under
“course materials”.
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Course Requirements and Evaluation:
Class participation: The success of a class is largely dependent on consistent attendance,
careful reading and engagement with other members of the class. You will be evaluated in
this course in large part on your classroom engagement over the course of the quarter.
20% of the total grade.
Class Journal: Each student will keep a class journal that includes their 10 min “power
writing” that includes notes, questions, and drawings from lecture. I will randomly check
your journals. Also note, that some days we will have everyone share the questions from
their journal. 10% of the total grade.
Illness Narrative: Each student will conduct and write up one illness narrative. If possible
the narrative should be audio recorded. Instructions for the illness narrative are available
on ilearn under the assignments tab. 10% of the total grade.
A four-page comic of your own dealing with graphic medicine in any form: (This can
be any combination of panels, tiers, full-page panels, etc., and your page size can vary from
5x7 to full page size). 10% of the total grade.
Final paper: You may choose one or more of the following for your final paper. More
detailed instructions will be provided in class. 25% of the total grade.
1) Based on your previous research, you will write a journal article of no more than
3000 words (including abstract and bibliography).
2) Write three reviews of graphic narratives that fall into the graphic medicine genre.
The quality of at least one review must be strong enough to submit to the graphic
medicine website.
3) Write and illustrate a comic based on your previous research. The script and final
comic would be submitted if you choose this option.
Final Journal issue: As a class we will produce a journal issue on the topic of graphic
medicine from an anthropological perspective. The content of the journal will consist of
your final papers. While the whole class will edit the submissions, we will need two chief
editors to take the lead. We will also need at least three people who will take the lead in
formatting the journal issue. The remaining scholars will find materials that would enhance
the content of journal issue and provide any support the editors or design layout team may
need. 25% of the total grade.
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Project Timeline
(timeline is subject to change)
Week One: What is Graphic Medicine? Why should anthropologists care?
Monday, Oct 6
This week will be an introduction to some of the basic issues in graphic medicine and
narrative in medicine. Basic terminology in comics, and course resources.
Read: Al-Jawad, Muna (2013) Comics are Research: Graphic Narratives as a New Way of
Seeing Clinical Practice. Journal of Medical Humanities. DOI 10.1007/s10912-0139205-0
Chute, Hillary (2010) Introduction. Graphic Women: Life Narrative & Contemporary
Comics. New York: Columbia University Press.
Walrath, Dana (2013) Introduction. Aliceheimers: Alzheimer’s Through the Looking
Glass. Armenia: Harvest Publishers.
Williams, Ian (2012) Graphic Medicine: Comics as Medical Narrative. Medical
Humanities 38:21-27. Doi:10.1136/medhum-2011-010093
Week Two: Questions of Inequality, “the ordinary, chronic, and cruddy”
Monday, Oct 13
If much of graphic medicine is based in the ordinary chronologies of everyday life, physical,
and medical suffering.
Read: Povinelli – Introduction. The Child in the Broom Closet.
Squire, Susan (2008) Literature and Medicine, Future Tense: Making it Graphic.
Literature and Medicine 27(2):124-152.
B., David. (2005) Epileptic. Translated by Kim Thompson. New York: Pantheon
Books.
Czerwiec, MK. Why Don’t you Draw!! http://www.comicnurse.com/comics/draw/
Week Three: Biomedicine and Hegemony
Monday, Oct 20
What is the role of time and technology in human suffering?
Read: Povinelli – Chapter One. The Part that has No Part.
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McMullin, Juliet (forthcoming) Cancer and Comics: Graphic Narratives and
Biolegitimate Lives. Medical Anthropology Quarterly.
Barry, Lynda (2005) One Hundred Demons. Seattle: Sasquatch Books
Developing illness narrative interview.
(review handouts from Kleinman, Charon, and DelVecchio-Good)
Week Four: Espionage, Camouflage, Recognition or Empathy?
Whose voices are heard? In what ways can they be heard? How is empathy a problem for
being heard?
Read: Povinelli – Chapter Two. The Brackets of Recognition
Briggs, Charles (2007) Mediating Infanticide: Theorizing Relations between
Narrative and Violence. Cultural Anthropology. 22(3)315-356.
Czerwiec, MK and Michelle N. Huang (2014) Hospice Comics: Representations of
Patient and family Experience of Illness and Death in Graphic Novels. Journal of
Medical Humanities DOI 10.1007/s10912-014-9303-7
Week Five: Space, Body and Endurance
Monday, Nov 3.
How do the spaces we live in allow us to endure everyday injustices? How do they
contribute to suffering?
Read: Povinelli – Chapter Three. Road Kill. Ethical Substance, Exhaustion, Endurance.
Review (you may purchase these if you choose, but I will bring my copies to discuss)
Franklin, Eroyn. (2011) Detained. http://eroynfranklin.com/books/detained/
Ware, Chris (2012) Building Stories. New York: Pantheon Books
Week Six: Events, Quasi-Events, Exhaustion
Monday, Nov10
How can graphic medicine tell us about chronic conditions of exhaustion and inequality?
Read: Povinelli – Chapter Four. Events of Abandonment.
Small, David (2010) Stitches: A Memoir. New York: WW Norton and Company
The Healthy Aboriginal (2010) Darkness Calls - I will supply you with these comics
**** Find a comics or graphic novel appropriate to this theme.
Week Seven: Sacrificial Love and Sociographies.
Monday, Nov 17
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How is Graphic Medicine Anthropological?
Read: Povinelli – Chapter Five and Conclusion
Spiegleman, Art (1991) Vols 1 & 2 Maus: A Survivor’s Tale. New York: Penguin
Books
Week Eight: Journal Work
Monday, Nov 24
Share your projects & discuss
Have written sections of your paper done and ready to receive feedback and edit.
Week Nine: Class presentations. Discussions based on Povinelli and other readings
as they relate to your individual paper.
Monday, Dec 1
Week Ten: Finish editing journal- prepare to upload.
Monday, Dec 8
Final Journal Issue Due - Wed. Dec 17 by 10pm
Additional important event:
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