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X-WR-CALNAME:German Studies Lecture Series: Drawing on Experience: Graphic 
 Medicine and the Concept of Erlebnis
X-WR-TIMEZONE:Pacific Time (US & Canada)
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20261007T071654Z
UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_45932646279372
DTSTART:20240402T190000Z
DTEND:20240402T201500Z
DESCRIPTION:Abstract: Graphic medicine is a subgenre of comics that unites 
 several different discourses\, such as comic studies\, medical humanities\
 , disability studies and trauma studies. Graphic medicine can loosely be u
 nderstood as comics and graphic novels about illness\, trauma and disabili
 ty. While graphic medicine can include everything from informative pamphle
 ts at the doctor’s office\, to signs in a museum exhibit\, there is a si
 gnificant amount of graphic memoirs which fall into this category as well.
  Authors of such graphic memoirs are frequently individuals who have exper
 ienced or continue to experience a cognitive or physical condition that ha
 s had a profound impact on their lives\, their relationships and their int
 eraction with society.  In this talk\, I consider how graphic medicine can
  help challenge philosophical discourses on the distinction between Erfahr
 ung and Erlebnis. In Walter Benjamin’s understanding of Erfahrung and Er
 lebnis\, as expressed in his essay\, “On Some Motifs in Baudelaire” (1
 939)\, Erfahrung is something you gather through observation\, while Erleb
 nis is something you have actually lived through. According to Benjamin\, 
 while Erfahrungen allow for the integration of information into a coherent
  narrative\, this is not possible with Erlebnisse\, because in the regime 
 of Erlebnis\, one lacks the aesthetic ability to relate with the environme
 nt. Using examples from both German and non-Germans comics and graphic nov
 els\, I argue that graphic medicine helps us question hierarchical thinkin
 g that would denote Erfahrung as more positive or more useful than Erlebni
 s. I propose that graphic medicine constitutes Erlebnis in two senses of t
 he word\, potentially uniting the phenomenological with the aesthetic disc
 ourses of the term. First\, graphic medicine is a vehicle that allows peop
 le living with disabilities\, trauma and illness to convey lived experienc
 e. Second\,aesthetically\, its combination of image and text allows for re
 presentations of illness\, trauma and disability which would otherwise be 
 impossible to convey solely through written or visual language alone. Rath
 er than suggesting that Erlebnis is as useful as Erfahrung for helping a s
 ubject create a coherent life narrative\, instead I propose that graphic m
 edicine fundamentally calls the notion of stable\, coherent subjectivity i
 nto question\, instead embracing fractured and constantly changing identit
 ies\, in the hope for creating a less ableist future\, more inclusive of p
 eople who think\, look and live differently.\n\nRSVP
GEO:37.427405;-122.1697
LOCATION:Building 260\, Pigott Hall\, Room 216
SUMMARY:German Studies Lecture Series: Drawing on Experience: Graphic Medic
 ine and the Concept of Erlebnis
URL;VALUE=URI:https://events.stanford.edu/event/german-studies-lecture-seri
 es-drawing-on-experience-graphic-medicine-and-the-concept-of-erlebnis
CATEGORIES:Lecture/Presentation/Talk
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