MEDICINE AND EMPATHY IN CONTEMPORARY BRITISH FICTION : a critical intervention in medical ... humanities

Offers a new understanding of empathy and its relation to medicine and literature, as a critical intervention into the medical humanities. This book marks a critical intervention in the medical humanities that takes issue with its understanding of empathy as something that one has. Drawing on phenomenology and feminist affect theory, it positions empathy as something that one does and that is embedded within structural, institutional, and cultural relations of power. More than this, it questions the assumption that empathy is limited to the clinical relation, thinking about medicine as more broadly defined. Combining theoretical argument with literary case studies of books by Mark Haddon, Pat Barker, Ian McEwan, Aminatta Forna and Kazuo Ishiguro, this book also contends that contemporary fiction is not a vehicle for accessing another’s illness experience, but is itself engaging critically with the question of empathy and its limits. Anne Whitehead is Senior Lecturer in Modern and Contemporary Literature at Newcastle University, UK. Offers a new understanding of empathy and its relation to medicine and literature, as a critical intervention into the medical humanitiesThis book marks a critical intervention in the medical humanities that takes issue with its understanding of empathy as something that one has. Drawing on phenomenology and feminist affect theory, it positions empathy as something that one does and that is embedded within structural, institutional, and cultural relations of power. More than this, it questions the assumption that empathy is limited to the clinical relation, thinking about medicine as more broadly defined. Combining theoretical argument with literary case studies of books by Mark Haddon, Pat Barker, Ian McEwan, Aminatta Forna and Kazuo Ishiguro, this book also contends that contemporary fiction is not a vehicle for accessing another's illness experience, but is itself engaging critically with the question of empathy and its limits.Key FeaturesProvides a strong conceptual underpinning for the notion of empathy, drawing on phenomenology and feminist affect theoryRelates the idea of empathy not only to the clinical relation but also to medicine more broadly definedRepositions literature's role in the medical humanities from a vehicle to access patient experience to a strategic intervention into current debates on empathy and its effects 'medicine And Empathy In Contemporary British Fiction' Takes Issue Wtih The Understanding Of Empathy As Something That One Has. Drawing On Phenomenology And Feminist Affect Theory, It Positions Empathy As Something That One Does And That Is Embedded Within Structural, Institutional And Cultural Relations Of Power. More Than This, It Questions The Assumption That Empahy Is Limited To The Clinical Relation. Combining Theoretical Argument With Literary Case Studies Of Books By Mark Haddon, Pat Barker, Ian Mcewan, Aminatta Forna And Kazuo Ishiguro, This Book Also Contends That Contemporary Fiction Is Not A Vehicle For Accessing Another's Illness Experience, But Is Itself Engaging Critically With The Question Of Empathy And Its Limits. -- Rear Cover. Machine Generated Contents Note: 1. Empathy And Mind -- 2. Empathy And Ethics -- 3. Empathy And Interdisciplinarity -- 4. Empathy And The Geopolitical -- 5. Empathy And Capitalism. Anne Whitehead. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Offers a new understanding of empathy and its relation to medicine and literature, as a critical intervention into the medical humanities This book marks a critical intervention in the medical humanities that takes issue with its understanding of empathy as something that one has. Drawing on phenomenology and feminist affect theory, it positions empathy as something that one does and that is embedded within structural, institutional, and cultural relations of power. More than this, it questions the assumption that empathy is limited to the clinical relation, thinking about medicine as more broadly defined. Combining theoretical argument with literary case studies of books by Mark Haddon, Pat Barker, Ian McEwan, Aminatta Forna and Kazuo Ishiguro, this book also contends that contemporary fiction is not a vehicle for accessing anothers illness experience, but is itself engaging critically with the question of empathy and its limits. Key Features "Medicine and Empathy in Contemporary British Fiction takes issue with the understanding of empathy as something that one has. Drawing on phenomenology and feminist affect theory, it positions empathy as something that one does and that is embedded within structural, institutional and cultural relations of power. More than this, it questions the assumption that empathy is limited to the clinical relation. Combining theoretical argument with literary case studies of books by Mark Haddon, Pat Barker, Ian McEwan, Aminatta Forna and Kazuo Ishiguro, this book also contends that contemporary fiction is not a vehicle for accessing another's illness experience, but is itself engaging critically with the question of empathy and its limits."--Page 4 of cover Acknowledgements 8 Introduction 10 Chapter 1 Empathy and Mind 34 Chapter 2 Empathy and Ethics 68 Chapter 3 Empathy and Interdisciplinarity 100 Chapter 4 Empathy and the Geopolitical 134 Chapter 5 Empathy and Capitalism 166 Conclusion 196 Bibliography 203 Index 216