Creative Writing for Medical Humanities

In this course students will explore French literature by marginalized voices to understand and creatively engage with issues of bodily autonomy, human rights, and the intersections of race, gender, and colonialism, culminating in a portfolio that blends creative and critical work inspired by readings, site visits, and discussions throughout Paris.

• Program Dates: May 12-30, 2025

• Program Location: Rice Global Paris Center | Paris, France

• Who Can Apply? Any Rice Undergraduate. No prerequisites. Note for graduating seniors! You are welcome to apply to this course; however, Rice summer aid (i.e. Rice financial aid) is not available to seniors who have obtained enough credits to graduate by the end of the spring semester. Additionally, you will have to postpone your graduation date to the summer in order to participate. You are, however, still eligible to apply for both RICE GLOBAL tuition and travel awards included in the course application.

• Tuition Cost: $1,800 per credit hour (this course is 3 credit hours).

• What's Covered: The program will provide housing for all three weeks, metro card for all three weeks, course-set excursions/tickets, three group meals, and travel insurance.

• Financial Aid: If you already receive financial aid, you are eligible to receive financial aid for up to 9 credit hours a summer for two summer, at 50% of the tuition rate, i.e. if a Paris course is three credit hours and $5,400 total tuition, eligible students would pay $2,700. Rice summer aid (i.e. Rice financial aid) is not available to seniors who have obtained enough credits to graduate by the end of the spring semester.

  After submitting your application, our office is in direct contact with the financial aid office who will let us know if you are financial aid eligible for the summer. If you are accepted, you will immediately know how much financial aid you have available in your acceptance letter.

  To find out if you are eligible before acceptance to a course, contact: fina@rice.edu. To learn more about summer financial aid requirements, please visit: https://financialaid.rice.edu/summer-students.

• Additional Assistance from Rice Global: Students can also apply to receive additional assistance (for both tuition and travel) from Rice Global. Application for assistance is included in the course application.

• Credit Hours: 3 credit hours

• Course Instructor: Cameron Dezen Hammon

• Course Description: In "Creative Writing for Medical Humanities" students will learn how literature has been used by marginalized people to argue for bodily autonomy in a French context, while producing their own original creative writing inspired by the themes of the class. We will read memoir, fiction, drama, and poetry, texts by French women and women of color (translated from the French to English), that center the fight for human rights and bodily autonomy. *This is an adaptation of a class that I have already taught at Rice, and this version will focus on French literature (in translation) by French women and women of color.

  Student’s will read Nobel Prize winner Annie Ernaux’s ground shifting memoir, Happening, about the struggle for abortion care in mid 1960s France, which examines the struggle for gender and class equality in the fight for reproductive rights. We will visit locations throughout Paris that were key to the decriminalization of abortion in 1975 and will meet with a representative from French women's organizations which continue the fight to preserve women’s rights in France. We will read excerpts from the memoirs of Black activist/ feminists about the struggle for women’s rights in French colonial Africa. We will read and discuss Venus, by Suzan Lori Parks, an award winning play about Sarah Baartman, also known as the Venus Hottentot, which sheds light on the inhumane treatment of African women’s bodies in a French context in the 18th century, as well as Marie NDiaye's Three Strong Women, the winner of the 2009 Prix Goncourt, (NDiaye is the first Black woman to win that prize in France). We will visit The French National Museum of Natural History, where Baartman's remains were on display until 2002, as well as other locations that represent a historical point on the timeline for racial and gender equality.

  In this course students will come away with a grasp on how the history of reproductive rights, maternal health, and healthcare access in a French context is intertwined with the work of marginalized writers, and how the practice and study of creative writing opens opportunities to argue for basic human rights, and can make space for important conversations about race, class, gender, and colonialism. Student’s will practice in class writing prompts and will produce a portfolio of both creative and critical work in response to the assigned texts, discussions, and cultural site visits throughout Paris.

  Learning outcomes:

  • Student’s will improve their skills in writing and editing both creative and academic writing
  • Increased understanding of creative writing as a form of activism
  • Understand the lasting effects of gender bias and racism/ colonialism on healthcare outcomes in a France as well as in a global context

• Who is this class for? Any Rice Undergraduate. No prerequisites- counts toward Med Hum minor/ CW concentration/ Minor. This course is ideal for student's interested in medical humanities and/or creative writing. Medical humanities minors and Creative Writing minors or concentrators would be ideal candidates for this class, but it would appeal to anyone interested in how the history of reproductive rights, maternal health, and healthcare access is intertwined with the work of marginalized writers, and how the practice and study of creative writing can be an effective form of activism.

• Course Zoom Information Session: Take a look at the Information Session recording to learn more.

• Syllabus: Take a look at the draft syllabus - subject to change.

• Does this course fulfill a distribution and/or Analyzing diversity requirement? No, but it does count toward Medical Humanities minor/ Creative Writing concentration/ Minor.

For questions, please visit our student program page or email pariscenter@rice.edu. The application deadline is January 31, 2025.