Graphic Medicine
Information on the use of the comics medium to explore issues in healthcare.
Disability
Graphic medicine presents disability as a social construct that arises from an environment and society that fails to accommodate an impairment. It is uniquely positioned to represent the socio-somatic model of disability: how disability feels and what an impairment means socially for the disabled person and their family members.
Books in the Health Sciences Library
Uncanny Bodies by Explores how superhero comics, with their creative fusions of fantasy and realism, provide a flexible visual form for engaging issues of disability and intersectional identity (race, class, gender, sexuality) as well as for imagining and valuing different physical and cognitive ways of being in the world
Dumb by Part memoir, part medical cautionary tale, Dumb tells the story of how the book's author copes with the everyday challenges that come with voicelessness.
Hole in the Heart by A memoir of the author's emotions and the challenges and decisions she faces in raising a child with Down syndrome
El Deafo: the Superpowered Edition by Cece Bell's autobiographical account childhood and life with her deafness. Through the intentional use of anthropomorphic bunnies, which are known for their excellent hearing
Twister by A fictionalized narrative of the author's experiences as a quadriplegic following injuries he sustained from an accident
Dancing after TEN by In late 2004, Vivian Chong's life was changed forever when a rare skin disease, TEN (toxic epidermal necrolysis), left her with scar tissue that would eventually blind her. As she was losing her sight, she put down as many drawings on paper as she could to document the experience. this memoir is is an inspirational tale and a powerful work of graphic medicine
Webcomics
- Rethinking DisabilityHow can the concept of disability be understood in a multicultural world? Explore a collection of seven true stories intended to turn stereotypical perceptions upside down.
- That Deaf GuyComic series created by a profoundly deaf cartoonist and his hearing wife about a bi-lingual family who uses ASL and English to communicate, chronicling the experiences that are their daily life.
- I'm Not a RobotThe author's recounting of growing up with autism in a society that didn't understand her experience.
Websites
- Spin, Weave, CutResource for those who want to learn more about comics, use comics in education and create comics. Includes education on creating accessible comics for blind and vision-impaired readers
- Books Beyond WordsWordless, picture-based books co-created with and for people who find pictures easier to understand than words.
Selected Articles
Graphic medicine presents the socio-somatic model of disability: how disability feels and what an impairment means socially for the disabled person and their family members