The language of illness

In March 2018, a special issue of the periodical Nederlandse Letterkunde (Dutch Literature) appeared, with the title De Taal der Ziekte (The Language of Illness). 

Experiences of illness

In this special issue the interaction between research into literary production on the one hand, and medicine, psychosomatics, and psychiatry on the other hand, is anticipated. The central question reads: What can literature—and research on literature—tell us about experiences of illness or disability?

Impact and next steps

The different articles in this special issue make visible new perspectives and challenges. If we truly want to establish a dialogue between literature and medicine, necessary for both our understanding of the experience of illness as well as new fields of literature studies, we will have to employ a very loose definition of concepts such as “literature” and “literary.” Only if we are prepared to do so, will we truly be able to develop what in the future might come to be called “literary medicine.”

You can continue reading on this topic in our portfolio page.