What? A series of four sessions designed to increase your knowledge about how narrative works more generally and of narrative medicine in particular. Wednesdays early evenings (5:30-7:00pm) at DHMC Williamson Building Room 471 on October 19, 26 and November 2, 9.
Who? Anyone interested in the intersection of narrative and medicine. Students, interns, physicians, nurses, social workers, patients, staff, community members are all welcome.
Facilitated by Whom? Dr. Kathy Kirkland (Geisel School of Medicine and Palliative Care, DHMC) and Professor Irene Kacandes (Dartmouth College, German Studies, Comparative Literature, Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and Jewish Studies).
Are there prerequisites? No. Only curiosity and basic literacy. You don’t need to know anything about narrative theory or narrative medicine in advance (but it’s also okay if you do!). Sessions will be structured as BRIEF presentations of narrative concepts--definitions of narrative/story; chronology and narrative tenses; fictionality and fact; narrative personhood; co-construction of stories--by the facilitators; questions and discussion on those brief presentations; reading and discussion of a literary text together, and then some spontaneous writing that you can choose to share or keep private.
How did this come about? Kirkland and Kacandes won a portion of a Mellon grant for Medical Humanities at the Leslie Center. This will fund series snacks and a nice notebook for all participants to write in. So, NO COST.
What do I do? Please indicate interest by writing asap to irene.kacandes@dartmouth.edu or kathryn.kirkland@dartmouth.edu and put “narrative / medicine sessions” in the subject line. (In fact, all the sessions are open, but we want to get an estimate of interest so that we can book the approximately correct size space and order the right amount of wine and snacks.)
