“Literature and Medicine” Course Makes Meaning of the Pandemic

May 15, 2020
Students are exploring texts across genres, centuries and the world. The books are from the desk of Elena Fratto, Assistant Professor of Slavic languages and Literatures, who is teaching the course remotely from the Boston area. Photo: Elena Fratto

Students in the Spring 2020 course “Literature and Medicine” (SLA / HUM / GHP / RES 368) taught by Elena Fratto (Slavic Languages and Literatures) discover that literary texts keep them connected to one another — and help them grapple with their own experiences during the pandemic.

During online class sessions and precepts, Fratto and her three assistant instructors — graduate students Jacob Plagmann (Comparative Literature), Gabriella Ferrari (Slavic languages and Literatures) and Liza Mankovskaia (Slavic Languages and Literatures) — have encouraged “free-form discussion on what our societies are experiencing and how we can read and approach these events through the lens of literature.

Read the full story on the University homepage.

Since 2017, Fratto has convened the Humanities Council working group “Bodies of Knowledge” which engages faculty, staff, and graduate students in questions around embodiment from a wide range of viewpoints including the medical humanities, disability studies, art history and aesthetics, and environmental studies.

Humanities Council Logo
Italian Studies Logo
American Studies Logo
Humanistic Studies Logo
Ancient World Logo
Canadian Studies Logo
ESC Logo
Journalism Logo
Linguistics Logo
Medieval Studies Logo
Renaissance Logo
Film Studies Logo