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Speaking Our Minds: Narrating Mental Illness

Time and Location: Mondays 2:00-4:45 p.m. in room B07 at GODD.
Office Hours: Mondays 12:30-1:30 p.m. (held in Starbucks adjacent to the classroom or
via Skype by appointment. We are also accessible by email.)
Instructors:
Juliann Garey: Juliann.garey@nyumc.org; Juliann.garey@gmail.com
Sara Popkin: sara.popkin@nyumc.org
Peter Wu: peter.wu@nyumc.org
Course Description: Stories of mental illness are all too often told from the perspective
of those who study or treat it. By contrast, this course examines mental illness through
the lens of those who experience it first-hand and creatively transform their experience
into something that can be shared with others. Narrative has the unique ability to relate
the felt experience of mental illness in a way that the conventional patient history, chart,
or any strictly medical documentation cannot. Through close examination of video
testimony, memoir, autobiographical fiction, theater and film, students will learn to
receive and interpret the illness experience, with a focus on applications for public health,
advocacy and social justice. Through readings and in-class exercises and discussion, you
will learn the fundamentals of narrative analysis, how to listen for stories and interpret
texts with sensitivity to nuance in language, style, tone and metaphor. We will examine
these skills in the context of the clinician who wants to gain a richer, more holistic picture
of his or her patient.
Required Texts: Available at NYU Bookstore
Charon, R. (2006). Narrative medicine: Honoring the stories of illness. Oxford
University Press.
Freud, Sigmund. Dora: An analysis of a case of hysteria. Simon and Schuster,
1997
Jamison, K. R. (2009). An unquiet mind: A memoir of moods and madness.
Random House LLC.
Higashida, N. (2013). The Reason I Jump. Hachette UK.
Bechdel, A. (2007). Fun home: A family tragicomic. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Plath, S. (2013). The bell jar (Vol. 50). GoodBook LLC.
Williams, T. Suddenly Last Summer 1986 (renewed) Dramatists Play Service Inc.
Garey, J. (2012). Too Bright to Hear Too Loud to See. Soho Press.
Wolitzer, M. (2014). Belzhar. Simon and Schuster.
Sacks, O. (1995). An anthropologist on Mars: Seven paradoxical tales. Vintage.
Woolf, V. (2006). To the lighthouse. Oxford University Press.

Assessments:
Weekly response papers (30% of grade).
Each week, please write a one page paper in which you
1) Identify a passage or moment in the text (video, film, article, etc.) that troubles or
interests you. Write a grammatically correct, coherent response to this moment or
passage. Papers are to be double spaced (size 12, Times New Roman, left heading)
responses to the assigned readings of the week (No papers due for week 1 or the final
week of the observed evaluation).
2) Compose one discussion question (not necessarily related to your selected moment or
passage). The question should indicate that you did the readings. You may be asked about
your question during class and use them as a way of facilitating discussion.
Papers will be graded primarily on effort and completion, but the content will also be
considered. Papers should be uploaded in Word (.doc) format to assignments in NYU
Classes by 11:59 p.m. on the day that we have class (Sunday, leading into Monday). You
will receive 1-3 points for each completed assignment submitted on time via the method
described above. You receive 1 point for simply submitting the weekly paper in a timely
manner, 2 points for presenting your thoughts in an accessible manner (using good
grammar, etc.), and 3 points for connecting the readings in a thoughtful and meaningful
manner. If you average 2 points for the assignments, then you will receive 100% of the
grade. If you do not submit your response paper to NYU classes prior to the start of the
class each week, that week will be counted as getting no credit (0 points). Any late papers
will not be accepted.
Mid-term paper (4-6 pages) 30% of grade
A formal paper is due by 3/27/15 uploaded to assignments in NYU Classes in a Word
document in 12 point font. This paper is an opportunity for a focused textual analysis of a
meaningful narrative moment or passage or narrative sequence or motif and its
relationship to broader cultural, ideological or ethical questions. Remember that the best
papers feature a thesis that a reader can agree or disagree with. Paper topics should be
approved either in person during office hours or via email. Guidelines for writing the
mid-term will be posted on Classes under Adv. Seminar: Speaking Our Minds in the
Assignments folder.
Final paper (10 pages) 30% of grade
The students will use the patient assessment to construct an illness narrative from
multiple perspectives (clinician, caregiver, and patient), based on what they have seen,
heard, observed and interpreted and using all of the narrative skills and techniques
learned throughout the semester. 10 pages, double-spaced. Please see guidelines for the
final paper on Classes, Adv. Sem: Speaking Our Minds in the Assignment folder.

Class Participation (10% of grade)

Because this is a discussion-based seminar, attendance and lively participation in class
discussions and proof of active engagement with the weekly readings will be an
important part of the final grade. Please be prepared to demonstrate attentive
and thorough reading of these rewarding texts. Never come to class
without the text and a readiness to contribute to the conversation.
Students are also expected to go beyond the direct questions and bring more meaning to
the texts by drawing upon their own experiences or other secondary materials.
Groups of students will also be assigned specific readings throughout the semester. When
assigned readings, they will be expected to lead discussion and present ideas effectively
about the assigned readings to the group.
*****Please be mindful of laptop and other electronic device usage in class as this
can interfere with class participation. The instructors reserve the right to modify
this policy if warranted. *****
Attendance Policy and Extra Credit: As noted above, attendance is part of your grade.
Please make an effort to be present for every class and sign the attendance sheet. Please
email us in advance if you must miss a class and consult with a fellow student about the
material you missed. We expect attendance and enthusiastic, qualitative participation in
every class meeting. More than two unexcused absences will result in a deduction from
your final grade. If special circumstances cause you to miss a third class you will be
required to provide an appropriate excuse/documentation from a school Dean, Academic
Advisor, or personal physician (e.g., not the students parent or family member) justifying
the absence, which will then be considered by the instructors. You can earn 5% extra
credit by having perfect attendance.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism is an extremely serious matter, and can lead to a students failing
the course and being referred to his or her dean for disciplinary action. When referring to
ideas other than your own, always acknowledge your sources clearly and completely,
whether you are quoting or paraphrasing. Follow the Five-word rule: If you use more
than five words verbatim from another source, you must cite that source in your paper.
Disabilities: NYU is dedicated to facilitating equal access for students with disabilities
and to cultivating a campus culture that is sensitive and responsive to the needs of
students. Please let us know, either through the Office of Disability Services, or by
contacting one of us individually, if you need special accommodations due to a disability.
Schedule of Classes (subject to change)
Jan. 26Intro to Narrative Theory and Narrative Medicine
Overview of class and syllabus
Readings: (to be completed before Session One)

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1. Culler, J (1997). Literary Theory: A very Short Introduction, Narrative (pp. 82-93).
New York: Oxford University Press
2. Charon, R. (2007). What to do with stories the sciences of narrative medicine.
Canadian Family Physician, 53(8), 1265-1267.
3. Charon, R. (2006). Narrative medicine: Honoring the stories of illness. (pp.107-130).
Oxford University Press.
Feb. 2 Testimony: Constructing/Witnessing an illness narrative
Readings:
1. Parry, P. I. (2008). Cough disorder: an allegory on DSM-IV. The Medical journal of
Australia, 191(11-12), 674-676.
2. Charon, R. (2006). Bearing Witness. Narrative medicine honoring the stories of illness
(pp. 177-201). New York: Oxford University Press.
Videos:
Sherwin Nuland: How Electroshock Therapy Changed Me (Feb 2001)
http://www.ted.com/talks/sherwin_nuland_on_electroshock_therapy.html
Feb. 9 Learning from Case Studies: A Clinicians Narrative
In this session, we will examine how clinicians tell their patients
stories.
Readings:
1. Freud, Sigmund. Dora: An analysis of a case of hysteria. Simon and Schuster, 1997 (155).
2. Sacks, O. (1995). An anthropologist on Mars: Seven paradoxical tales. Vintage
(Preface and 77-107).
Feb. 16 No Class Presidents day observed
Feb. 23Memoir: Remembering Bipolar Disorder
Readings:
1. Jamison, K. R. (2009). An unquiet mind: A memoir of moods and madness. Random
House LLC.
Videos: Jamison, Kay Redfield and Saks, Elyn (June 21, 2010) Interviewed by Charlie
Rose, http://www.charlierose.com/watch/50066203
March 2Narrating Silence: Autism Speaks
In his groundbreaking book, The Reason I Jump, thirteen-year-old Naoki Higashida
breaks the silence. Through close readings of his text, we will explore Naokis many
challenges to the conventional wisdom regarding autism.
Readings:

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1. Higashida, N. (2013). The Reason I Jump. Hachette UK.
March 9Drawing the Family Narrative: The Graphic Novel/Mid-term paper
workshop
We will examine Alison Bechdel's critically acclaimed graphic memoir, Fun Home: A
Family Tragicomic. Topics may questions such as how closely affiliated are a daughter's
open lesbian existence and a father's closeted gay one? Gender identity formation,
expression and repression within the context of a dysfunctional family and the notion of
complicated grief.
Readings:
1. Bechdel, A. (2007). Fun home: A family tragicomic. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
2. Giaimo, G. N. (2013). Psychological Diffusions: The Cognitive Turn in Alison
Bechdels Are You My Mother? A Comic Drama. European Journal of Life Writing, 2,
35-58.
Mid-term paper topics assigned. Students may propose alternative topics but they
must be submitted for instructor approval via email in the form of a written coherent
thesis paragraph (and at least one passage, moment of conflict in the text which will be
central to the papers close reading/analysis) due not later than March 11th at 11:59 pm.
We will spend approximately 45 minutes during class holding brief conferences with
students and discussing paper topics.
March 16 NO CLASS Spring recess
March 23 Autobiographical Fiction: Narrating Depression (Sylvia Plaths The
Bell Jar)
Readings:
1. Plath, S. (2013). The bell jar (Vol. 50). GoodBook LLC.
**March 27 (Fri) Mid-term paper due. Uploaded to Classes no later than 11:59 pm
(See guidelines for Mid-term paper in Assignments folder under Adv. Sem. Speaking
Our Minds)
March 30 Narrating Childhood Trauma: Virginia Woolf
Readings:
1. Woolf, V. (2006). To the lighthouse. Oxford University Press.
April 6Staging Mental Illness: Tennessee Williams and Suddenly Last Summer
Readings:

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1. Williams, T., & New Directions Publishing Corp., (1958). Suddenly last summer.
York: New Directions.
2. Schvey, H. I. (2011). The Tragic Poetics of Tennessee Williams. tudes anglaises,
64(1), 74-79.
April 13 The Novel: Bipolar Fiction
We will discuss Too Bright to Hear Too Loud to See (written by the instructor), exploring
how the experience of reading the fictional bipolar narrative differs from that of reading
Jamisons memoir.
Readings: Garey, J. (2012). Too Bright to Hear Too Loud to See. Soho Press.
April 20The YA Novel: Narrating Adolescence
Topics to include YA Lits fascination with depression, suicide, self-harm, and dystopian
worlds, the neuroscience of the adolescent brain and its implications for adolescent
behaviorspecifically teen suicide, narrative formation, and the therapeutic alliance.
Readings:
1.Wolitzer, M. (2014). Belzhar. Simon and Schuster.

April 27 Film: Camera as Narrator: Ordinary People and What Maisie Knew
We will examine the affective and cognitive dimensions of the film viewing experience
and how they change the ways in which we receive the illness narrative.
Films: (subject to change; to be viewed prior to class)
Redford, R. (Director). (1980). Ordinary people [Film]. USA: Paramount.
McGehee, Scott and Siegel, David (Directors). (2013) What Maisie Knew [Film]. USA:
Millennium Ent.
May 4 Listening to Stories: Narrative Medicine in Practice
Exact patient assessment Time TBD (to take place at Child Study Center, One Park
Ave. 7th floor).
Students will meet at The NYU Child Study Center to observe a patient evaluation. As
part of their introductory psychopathology course (a pre-requisite for this advanced
seminar), all students have observed and documented a patient evaluation from the
clinicians perspective. Now, utilizing the narrative skills taught over the course of the
semester you will be asked to expand upon this model for the final paper. You will take
detailed notes on the evaluation, with particular attention paid to the language used (both
verbal and non-verbal), the differences between the patients narrative and the caregivers
narrative, and the patient/doctor and caregiver/doctor exchange and relationship
Final paper assigned:

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The students will use the patient assessment to construct an illness narrative from
multiple perspectives (clinician, caregiver, and patient), based on what they have seen,
heard, observed and interpreted and using all of the narrative skills and techniques
learned throughout the semester. 10 pages, double-spaced. Please see guidelines for the
final paper on Classes, Adv. Sem: Speaking Our Minds in the Assignment folder.
May 11 Speaking Out: Journalism, Advocacy and Mental Illness
We will look at op-eds, essays, investigative journalism and TED Talks by persons who
employ the mental illness narrative to bring public awareness to issues including gun
control, stigma, the health care system, access to mental health care and other policy
matters.
Readings: (subject to change)
1.

Heldman, K (June 1, 1998) 7 1/2 Days. CityLimits.org. [File Retrieved from]

http://www.citylimits.org/news/articles/2454/7-1-2-days#.UuKp7Cg8LAd

2.

Garey, J (August 11, 2013). When doctors discriminate. The New York Times.

Retrieved from:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/11/opinion/sunday/when-doctors-discriminate.html?
_r=1&
3.
The New York Times (August 23, 2013). Medical Care and the Mentally Ill.
Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/22/opinion/medical-care-and-thementally-ill.html?ref=opinion
4.
Solomon, A (December 7, 2013). Shameful Profiling of the Mentally Ill. The New
York Times Retrieved from:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/08/opinion/sunday/shameful-profiling-of-thementally-ill.html
5.
Kristof, N (Sunday, Jan 5, 2014). First Topic, Mental Illness. The New York
Times
Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/05/opinion/sunday/kristof-first-upmental-illness-next-topic-is-up-to-you.html
6.
Svendsen, D., Singer, P., Foti, M. E., & Mauer, B. (2006). Morbidity and
mortality in people with serious mental illness (p.1- 87). Alexandria, VA: National
Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD) Medical Directors
Council. (skim)

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Retrieved from: www.nasmhpd.org

May date (finals week)TBD Final project due