In this 8-session class, we will explore different methods of writing about our experiences with illness.

From science writing to historical fiction and diaries to essays, there are a multitude of approaches to writing about illness. Weekly readings will provide examples of these approaches. Writing exercises will guide us through ways we might incorporate these techniques into our own writing.

Approaches covered include using archival research, writing the personal essay, and forms like prose poetry and diary entries. As we explore a variety of techniques, we will learn how our experiences of illness can be contextualized, and the many ways we can tell our own stories.

Readings will include work by Audre Lorde, Susan Sontag, Virigina Woolf, Alphonse Daude, Anne Boyer, and others.