The science behind illness is often discussed, but that is not what you will find in the articles collected here. They focus instead on the experiences and cultural differences of people with illnesses and how they are shaped by stories, images, and other forms of representation. All of these articles present different illnesses, but they share a unifying theme of how the public perceives them. Some articles aim to correct misconceptions and oversights–because representations in the public eye, often driven by various forms of media, can skew the truths about many kinds of mental and physical ailments. However, other articles point out what certain illness representations can teach us.
Read on and you will learn about about a wide range of illnesses and kinds of representations, from Alzheimer’s feature films and American Horror Story’s Asylum to media images of mass shooters and popular science rhetoric about neural implants. You will learn about changing conceptions of mental illness and obesity, historical conditions such as the plague, new ideas about athletic training, and modern support communities for depression and cancer, online and off. You will think in new ways about how different perceptions of illnesses are influenced by their representations. You will come to appreciate a more cultural perspective on illness. And you will see the influence that these different representations have on the general public and their outlook on disease.
The students of WR 150 D2
December 2015
Representing Illness D2 
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