Essay #2 Assignment: Illness as Metaphor

 

“My subject is not physical illness itself but the uses of illness as a figure or metaphor. My point is that illness is not a metaphor, and the most truthful way of regarding illness—and the healthiest way of being ill—is one most purified of, most resistant to, metaphoric thinking. Yet, it is hardly possible to take up one’s residence in the kingdom of the ill unprejudiced by the lurid metaphors with which it has been landscaped. It is toward an elucidation of those metaphors, and a liberation from them, that I dedicate this inquiry” (Sontag 4).

 

For this assignment, you will be applying Susan Sontag’s method from Illness as Metaphor (1978) to identify figurative language used to describe illnesses, diseases, or syndromes. You should select an illness that has no known demonstrable cause or one in which many causes are speculated.  Your essay should make a claim about whether or not the language used to discuss your disease supports, refutes, or complicates Sontag’s thesis. Consider the examples of figurative language we have discussed in class and Sontag’s models of psychological, economic, and military metaphors.  What would Sontag say about the language used to discuss

your illness? How does metaphor shape cultural attitudes about the illness, disease, or syndrome? Why does she urge us to purify ourselves from metaphors?

 

 

Recommendations:

 

•    In contrast to what we discussed in class, I’m going to widen the parameters a bit and allow you to research “disorders.”  This means that autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit disorder, and a long list of other similarly classified behaviors are possible topics.  That said, proceed with caution since it might require a bit of extra work.  You will need to spend an adequate amount of time explaining and discussing what Sontag would think about the term “disorder” and how it works with her theory.

•    Genetic diseases that are traceable to a genetic mutation or genetic “defect” of some kind don’t quite fit the model of a disease with an unknown cause or multiple causes. Still, Sontag would likely ask us to question the language of genetics. What would Sontag say about using the term genetic “defect?” What does she say about “mutation?” If you were to pick a genetic disease, you would

need to extend Sontag’s argument to genetics which I think is possible, but like choosing “disorders”

 

it really depends on the following:

 

 

1. What is debatable about these diseases? What does it mean to say either of them can be attributed to genetics?

 

2. Are they researchable?  You don’t need a lot of sources for this essay but you don’t want to get stuck with only two or three to choose from because the illness, disease, syndrome, or disorder, you have chosen is rare.

If you are not choosing a disease from the list I have provided below, please check with me about your topic before you proceed.

 

Requirements:

•      No straw man (woman) or ad hominem (against the woman) fallacies.  Remember that Sontag is writing in 1978. Don’t attempt to complicate her argument by using medical advances or knowledge that she could not have possibly known about. Don’t direct a counterargument against her. Instead, stick to her theory and text.

•         You need to apply Sontag’s method and demonstrate that you understand her points before you disagree with her theory.  Then, you can consider a potential counterargument.

•         3-5 different sources in addition to Sontag’s text. It’s the variety of sources that is important.  As we have discussed in class, reliable websites for definitions of diseases that rely primarily on scientific, medical terms can be found at the websites below.

National Institutes of Health http://www.nih.gov/ Center for Disease Control  http://www.cdc.gov/

Databases such as PubMed and MEDLINE are good, but expect to see some figurative language. These databases can be accessed through the Butler library.

Try Google Scholar for a variety of texts about your disease or illness.  Most of the time, your search will yield scholarly articles with difficult specialized language, but occasionally, other types of documents turn up as well.

Websites for the national organization or foundations about your illness or disease

Patient /Support Group websites

 

The final draft of this assignment should be 3-5 pages long in MLA format and conform to the writing guidelines explained under Essays & Research Paper of the FYS syllabus.

 

Here is a list of diseases, illnesses, syndromes, disorders with unknown causes or multiple causes. This is by no means exhaustive.  I’m happy to approve a different disease provided it meets the criteria:

 

 

Alzheimer’s                                               Lupus                                      Tourette’s Syndrome

 

Fibromyalgia                                             Type I Diabetes Chronic Fatigue Syndrome                       Erythromelalgia Endometriosis                                           Sjogren’s Syndrome

Irritable Bowel Syndrome                         Reflex Sympathy Dystrophy/Complex Regional Pain Syndrome

 

Crohn’s Disease                                       Polyarteritis nodosa

 

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)      Münchausen Syndrome

 

Meniere’s Disease                                    Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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WORD COUNT                   1316

CHARACTER COUNT          6853

TIME SUBMITTED                 19-MAR-2013 08:30AM PAPER ID          313431805

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