Literature and Medicine

Examine the links between the art of literature and medicine through the lens of historic Edinburgh, a city with a distinguished international reputation in medicine and UNESCO’s first City of Literature.

We will explore writer-doctors, patient and illness narratives as well as gender and race equality in health and ideas of disability and of mental health in literature.

You will read a selection of literary texts by writers such as Arthur Conan Doyle, Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath, Audre Lorde, and Kaite Welsh, learning about historical-medical contexts and milestones along the way: from early women doctors and body-snatchers, to patient narratives and literary responses to inequality.

You will need to borrow or buy the following texts:  

• The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath  
• The Wages of Sin by Kaite Welsh

All other readings will be provided by your teacher. Classes will consist of teacher-led discussion about the readings and key topics.

This course will feature field trips to locations in or around Edinburgh (your teacher will confirm the itinerary in class).

You will require access to a computer or other device with internet connection.

Please note that this course includes material and / or discussion of sensitive and potentially challenging topics that some learners may find upsetting.

If you have fully engaged with all the learning activities and have attended regularly, by the end of the course you should be able to:

• Explain basic terms and concepts associated with the study of literature and medicine
• Critically evaluate texts through close reading, identifying literary techniques and devices, to understand ways in which literary texts depict health and illness, and shape the understanding of medicine
• Identify past and current relations between literature and medicine, and how health and illness is constructed and experienced.

This course is designed for anyone interested in learning about medicine in literature. You do not need any prior knowledge.

Please note, there will be a short, guided walk as part of this course.

We welcome all and are committed to fostering a positive culture and sense of community among learners and staff. We expect learners to treat others with dignity and respect. Learners must be aged 16+.

If you have a disability, learning difficulty, health condition, or personal circumstances which may affect your learning, please let us know so that we can make appropriate adjustments in accordance with the Equality Act 2010.

Wherever possible, we mainstream adjustments in line with the University’s Accessible and Inclusive Learning Policy.

Learners will have limited access to the University’s student support services who will signpost appropriate local sources of support. 

There are no specific entry requirements for this course.

You will need to have reading, listening and communication skills, including the ability to understand detailed ideas and information presented verbally and in writing. You must be comfortable learning in English if it is not your first language. You will need basic digital skills, such as using a computer and navigating a website, to access the learning materials.

Booking is available until 23:59 the day before the course is due to start, unless the course is full or cancelled.