Syllabi: Family Values

INSTITUTION: Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine

PRESENTER: Delese Wear, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Behavioral Sciences; Associate Director, Human Values in Medicine

PROGRAM DIRECTOR: Martin Kohn, Ph.D., Director of the Human Values in Medicine Program (email: mfk@neoucom.EDU)

ENROLLMENT: BS/MD; selective; limit: 12

SEMESTER: Fall 1999
October 4, 6, 11, 13, 18, 20, 25, 27 (Monday/Wednesday mornings 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon)

LEARNING GOALS: Students will 1) study families from multiple vantage points in literature, 2) enlarge their perspectives on what constitutes a family, 3) understand the varied, complex issues facing families across cultures, throughout the lifespan, and during crises.

OUTLINE: We will read thematically, although the themes have a great deal of overlap. You'll be reading a great deal over the month, with the bulk found in two novels. Most of the other readings are poetry, short stories, essays, or memoirs. All the readings will be distributed in class. Readings for the first class will be mailed one week in advance. If you'd like, you can request a copy of the first novel be mailed at that time too, otherwise you'll receive it the first day of class.

WEEK 1

Katha Pollitt: "Why I Hate Family Values"

Judith Stacey:

"The Family Values Fable"

Joseph Coates: "What's Ahead for Families: Five Major Forces of Change"

Dana Mack: "The Ozzie and Harriet Redux"

Stephanie Coontz: "The Way We Weren't"

Wednesday (October 6) : Families: (Some) Beginnings

Lucille Clifton: "the lost baby poem"

Marge Piercy: "The Watch" (poem)

Linda Pastan: "Notes from the Delivery Room" (poem)

Bob Shacochs: "Missing Children"

Tama Janowitz: "Bringing Home Baby"

Sophie Black: "The Boys"

WEEK 2

Russell Banks: The Sweet Hereafter (novel and video)

Wednesday (October 14) : Social/Cultural Challenges to Families

Amy Tan: "Two Kinds" (from The Joy Luck Club )

Chitra Divakaruni:

"The Word Love"

"A Perfect Life"

Richard Bausch: "What Feels Like the World"

Tillie Olsen: "I Stand Here Ironing"

Doris Lessing: "To Room 19"

Video: What's Eating Gilbert Grape?

WEEK 3

Anna Quindlen: Black and Blue (novel)

Video: Defending Our Lives

Wednesday (October 20): Health Challenges to Families

Doris Lessing: The Fifth Child

Barbara Rosenblum: "Living in an Unstable Body" (memoir)

Sandra Butler: "Living in My Changing Body"(memoir)

Chitra Divakaruni: "Visit" (poem)

Susan Irene Rea: "Stroke" (poem)

Michael Lassell: "How to Watch Your Brother Die" (poem)

Stephen Dunn: "Grandmother's Stroke" (poem)

Video: Complaints of a Dutiful Daughter

WEEK 4

Abraham Verghese: My Own Country (novel)

Video: TBA

Wednesday (October 27): Love, Sex, and Marriage in the Family

Ethan Canin: "We Are Nighttime Travelers"

Stephen Dunn: "After the Argument" (poem)

Sharon Olds: "New Mother" (poem)

Dorianne Laux:

"On the Back Porch" (poem)

"The Thief" (poem)

"Afterwards" (poem)

Galway Kinnell: "After Making Love We Hear Footsteps" (poem)

Video: The Wedding Banquet

REQUIREMENTS:

1. Write a reflective response (no more than one page) to be turned in at the beginning of each class that chronicles your reactions (not simply a retelling) to the readings. First entry due at the first class meeting.

2. Write a paper that ties together the readings, focusing on one or more of the topics. This paper is a more critical, detailed examination of the literature than the daily responses are, and will tie the readings to clinical or personal experiences. 3-5 pages, typed.

HVM credits: 20