Middlebury

ENGL 0242

Critical Conditions

Critical Conditions: Gender, Literature, and Illness (Pre-1800)
In this course we will explore the literary representation of illness and pain in a range of texts from the classical period to the present day, focusing in particular on the intersection of illness with questions of gender, race, and sexuality. Beginning with Sophocles’s tragedy Women of Trachis, we will explore the classical representation of acute pain in the context of early Greek medicine, before examining medieval and early modern literary works inspired by the Black Death, including selections from Boccaccio’s Decameron. The second half of the class will focus on modernist and contemporary accounts of illness, including Virginia Woolf’s treatment of both the 1918 influenza epidemic and so-called “shell-shock” in her novel Mrs Dalloway. We will intersperse our literary readings with theoretical explorations of cure, disability, and ableism by writers such as Eli Clare, as well as work from the emerging field of narrative medicine. 3 hrs. lect.(Formerly ENAM 0242)
Subject:
English
Department:
English
Division:
Literature
Requirements Fulfilled:
EUR LIT
Equivalent Courses:
ENAM 0105
GSFS 0242
ENAM 0242
WAGS 0242
WAGS 0105

Sections

Fall 2024

ENGL0242A-F24 Lecture (Wells)

Fall 2022

ENGL0242A-F22 Lecture (Wells)