Three Ways of Looking at a Health Law and Literature Class

Drexel Law Review, Vol. 1, No. 2, p. 512, Summer 2009

61 Pages Posted: 7 Aug 2010

See all articles by Jennifer Bard

Jennifer Bard

University of Cincinnati - College of Law

Thomas William Mayo

Southern Methodist University - Dedman School of Law

Stacey A. Tovino

University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law

Date Written: November 1, 2008

Abstract

The authors of this Article participated in a panel at the American Society of Law, Ethics & Medicine Conference in 2008 that examined the use of literary materials in law school to teach medical ethics (and related matters) in a law school setting. This Article and the panel on which it was based reflect views on how literature can play a valuable role in helping law students and medical students understand important legal and ethical issues and concepts in health law and bioethics.

In Part I, Stacey Tovino introduces the parallel fields of “literature and medicine” and “law and literature” and identifies several common approaches to the use of literature, literary non-fiction, and illness narratives in medical and law school curricula. Tovino places current coursework in Law, Literature, and Medicine in its proper historical and pedagogical context.

In Part II, Tom Mayo describes the Law, Literature, and Medicine seminar he offers to third-year law students at Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law and fourth-year medical students at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. Mayo examines the features of his course that make it effective, suggests literature that may be used by health law professors who do not have the opportunity to teach a seminar devoted to literature, and comments on the ongoing medical humanities debate.

In Part III, Jennifer Bard describes the Law, Medicine, and Literature course she offered for the first time at Texas Tech University School of Law during the Spring 2008 semester. Bard examines the texts and films she assigned to build a working knowledge of medicine and science and the literature she selected to immerse her students in medico-legal situations with which they were unfamiliar.

This article was recognized in the SSRN Top Ten Lists for downloads for both the Legal Education and Health Law databases.

Suggested Citation

Bard, Jennifer S. and Mayo, Thomas William and Tovino, Stacey Ann, Three Ways of Looking at a Health Law and Literature Class (November 1, 2008). Drexel Law Review, Vol. 1, No. 2, p. 512, Summer 2009, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1654966

Jennifer S. Bard

University of Cincinnati - College of Law

P.O. Box 210040
Cincinnati, OH 45221-0040
United States

Thomas William Mayo

Southern Methodist University - Dedman School of Law ( email )

P.O. Box 116
Dallas, TX 75275
United States
214-768-3767 (Phone)
214-768-4330 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: https://www.smu.edu/Law/Faculty/Profiles/Mayo-Thomas-Wm

Stacey Ann Tovino (Contact Author)

University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law ( email )

4505 South Maryland Parkway
Box 451003
Las Vegas, NV 89154
United States

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