Graphic Medicine Manifesto

by MK Czerwiec, Ian Williams, Susan Merrill Squier, Michael J. Green, Kimberly R. Myers

Overview

This inaugural volume in the Graphic Medicine series establishes the principles of graphic medicine and begins to map the field. The volume combines scholarly essays by members of the editorial team with previously unpublished visual narratives by Ian Williams and MK Czerwiec, and it includes arresting visual work from a wide range of graphic medicine practitioners. The book’s first section, featuring essays by Scott Smith and Susan Squier, argues that as a new area of scholarship, research on graphic medicine has the potential to challenge the conventional boundaries of academic disciplines, raise questions about their foundations, and reinvigorate literary scholarship—and the notion of the literary text—for a broader audience. The second section, incorporating essays by Michael Green and Kimberly Myers, demonstrates that graphic medicine narratives can engage members of the health professions with literary and visual representations and symbolic practices that offer patients, family members, physicians, and other caregivers new ways to experience and work with the complex challenges of the medical experience. The final section, by Ian Williams and MK Czerwiec, focuses on the practice of creating graphic narratives, iconography, drawing as a social practice, and the nature of comics as visual rhetoric. A conclusion (in comics form) testifies to the diverse and growing graphic medicine community. Two valuable bibliographies guide readers to comics and scholarly works relevant to the field.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780271066493
Publisher:	Penn State University Press
Publication date:	05/15/2015
Series:	Graphic Medicine , #1
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	1,107,076
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.58(d)

About the Author

MK Czerwiec is a nurse and comics artist. She is the artist-in-residence at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.

Ian Williams is a visual artist and illustrator, a medical doctor, and an independent humanities scholar. His most recent book is The Bad Doctor: The Troubled Life and Times of Dr. Iwan James.

Susan Merrill Squier is Brill Professor of Women’s Studies and English at Penn State.

Michael J. Green is a medical doctor and Professor of Humanities and Medicine at the Penn State College of Medicine.

Kimberly R. Myers is Associate Professor of Humanities at the Penn State College of Medicine.

Scott T. Smith is Associate Professor of English at Penn State.

Table of Contents

Contents

Introduction

MK Czerwiec and Ian Williams

1 Who Gets to Speak? The Making of Comics Scholarship

Scott T. Smith

Excerpt from Swallow Me Whole, by Nate Powell

2 The Uses of Graphic Medicine for Engaged Scholarship

Susan Merrill Squier

“Bad Blastocyst,” by Ruben Bolling

Excerpts from I Am Not These Feet, by Kaisa Leka

Excerpts from “Where Babies Come From: A Miracle Explained,” by Ann Starr

3 Graphic Storytelling and Medical Narrative: The Use of Graphic Novels in Medical Education

Michael J. Green

Excerpt from The Infinite Wait, by Julia Wertz

4 Graphic Pathography in the Classroom and the Clinic: A Case Study

Kimberly R. Myers

Vita Perseverat (Life Goes On), by Ashley L. Pistorio

5 Comics and the Iconography of Illness

Ian Williams

Excerpt from The Nao of Brown by Glyn Dillon

6 The Crayon Revolution

MK Czerwiec

Excerpt from Cancer Made Me a Shallower Person, by Miriam Engelberg

Excerpt from Old Person Whisperer, by Muna Al-Jawad

Conclusion

MK Czerwiec and Ian Williams

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Comics Bibliography

Author Biographies and Acknowledgments

Credits

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Janice Phillips, PhD (Rush University Medical Center)
Description: This is the first book in the Graphic Medicine series, which the authors define as the intersection of the medium of comics and the discourse of healthcare. The authors, all pioneers in this field, highlight their involvement in this area and the power of comics in getting information across to diverse audiences.
Purpose: The purpose is to provide a historical overview of the rise in comic scholarship and its value in relaying important information in healthcare. Graphic medicine, as it is called, is a useful tool that can be used to educate, inform, and engage readers. Healthcare providers also can use it as a means to explore/share their personal feelings and describe their experiences working in healthcare. This unique book is one of the first of its kind to provide an in-depth overview of graphic medicine. The illustrations serve as a powerful example of what is meant by graphic medicine.
Audience: The six authors are true pioneers in this area, as little has been written about graphic medicine or comic scholarship. Individuals interested in using this as a source for patient education and engagement may find this book a helpful tool. The use of graphic medicine may also be suitable for those who are visual learners or those with limited literacy skills given that the messages can be tailored to the targeted population. Healthcare providers and others who are interested in including comics in their teaching will find this a valuable resource. The authors are leaders in the graphic medicine community and have expertise in medicine, nursing, graphic illustration, humanities and English, and women's studies.
Features: Each author provides an example of their engagement in graphic medicine. In each chapter, each of the authors provides a number of graphic illustrations to show how graphic medicine has been used to relay pertinent information on a health-related topic. The illustrations are outstanding and complement the narratives in each of the chapters. In addition to the chapter authors, graphic illustrations from outside experts are generously interspersed throughout the book.
Assessment: Published in 2015, this book was one of the very first on graphic medicine. It continues to provide fundamental information for getting started with graphic medicine and building an appreciation for comic scholarship in medicine.

Doody's Review Service

Absorbing and accessible. . . . The authors explain themselves in both words and pictures (five sketch themselves as standard-issue professionals, and one as a small, cheerful chicken). They outline what drew them to graphic medicine and append excerpts from favorite works.”

—Abigail Zuger, M.D., New York Times


“Graphic Medicine Manifesto draws its strength from the way the individual voices coalesce to confirm not only the ability of comics to unravel medical culture and the pedagogical possibilities of graphic medicine but the transformative and community-building competence of graphic pathographies. In short, Graphic Medicine Manifesto is an essential read for scholars in comics studies, cultural studies, medical humanities, bicultural studies and visual studies, and to any reader who values the intersection of literature and medicine.”

—Sathyaraj Venkatesan, Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics


“Something remarkable and game changing is being sparked by the alliance between comics and medicine. It’s becoming clear that these graphic narratives can deepen understanding, not only of facts but of feelings, between patients, families, and professionals. A spoonful of comics really does help the medicine go down.”

—Paul Gravett, author of Comics Art and editor of 1001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die


“Published in 2015, this book was one of the very first on graphic medicine. It continues to provide fundamental information for getting started with graphic medicine and building an appreciation for comic scholarship in medicine.”

—Janice Phillips, Doody's Review Service

From the Publisher

07/01/2015
This volume explores the ways in which comics or graphic novels can be used to explore the world of illness in the context of modern medicine. While the illustrated format might seem an odd source for such reflection, this multiauthored volume (which includes work from Czerwiec, a nurse and comics artist, as well as professors of English, medicine, and medical humanities) argues that graphics and artistry can help individuals explore facets of the illness experience in ways that other text-based mediums cannot convey. Hence, the book looks at ways in which graphics help individuals tell their own stories, aid doctors-in-training in expressing their emotions and coming to a greater understanding of illness, and help even those not struggling with a particular illness achieve a deeper comprehension of the experiences of others. Numerous illustrations assist readers with becoming familiar with the types of work under discussion. VERDICT An innovative, thought-provoking title on an understudied field in medical humanities. This will appeal to those interested in medical education, medical humanities, and the growing field of narrative medicine.—Aaron Klink, Duke Univ., Durham, NC

Library Journal