Laurie Edwards
Teaching Professor; Director of Advanced Writing in the Disciplines
Laurie Edwards teaches Advanced Writing for the Health Professions, Advanced Writing in the Sciences, and Writing to Heal. She is the author of two books on chronic disease: Life Disrupted (Walker, 2008) and In the Kingdom of the Sick: A Social History of Chronic Illness in America (Walker, 2013). Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Boston Globe, NPR, and other outlets, and she has appeared on Fresh Air with Terry Gross and The Today Show to discuss gender and pain.
- Awarded the College of Social Sciences and Humanities Outstanding Teaching Award, Non-Tenure Track faculty, December 2016
- Selected by WBUR as a “Best of Cognoscenti” writer, May 2015
- Booklist’s Editor’s Choice for Adult Nonfiction, 2013 (In the Kingdom of the Sick)
- Participant, health care reform private panel with President Bill Clinton, Clinton Foundation (2009)
- Library Journal’s Best Consumer Health Book, 2008 (Life Disrupted)
- Life Disrupted (Bloomsbury USA, 2008)
- In the Kingdom of the Sick: A Social History of Chronic Illness in America (Bloomsbury, 2013)
- “Women and the Treatment of Pain,” New York Times Sunday Review (March 2013)
- “New Diagnosis Risks ‘It’s All in Your Head’ Response to Illness,” WBUR’s CommonHealth (April 2013)
- “Teaching the ‘Me Me Me Generation,’” WBUR’s Cognoscenti (June 2013)
- “There’s Meaning in the Process, Not Just the Product,” WBUR’s Cognoscenti (December 2013)
- “Forging Real Connections in Virtual Classrooms,” WBUR’s Cognoscenti (November 2014)
- “The Real Stigma of Beverly Hills: Why the Controversy of Yolanda’s Illness Matters,” WBUR’s Cognoscenti (February 2016)
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Education
MFA in Nonfiction Writing, Emerson College
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Contact
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Address
465 Holmes Hall
360 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115 -
Office Hours
Mon, 1:30-2:30, 471 Holmes and Zoom
Thurs, 10:30-11:30, 471 Holmes and Zoom
Fri, 11-12, Zoom
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Students practice and reflect on writing in professional, public, and academic genres—such as literature reviews, case studies, protocols, and care instructions—relevant for careers in nursing, pharmacy, and other health professions. In a workshop setting, offers students an opportunity to evaluate a wide variety of sources and develop expertise in audience analysis, critical research, peer review, and revision.
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Writing to Heal
ENGL 2770
Explores how creative writing can be used as a healing tool. Offers students opportunities to analyze, theorize, and create healing narratives through readings, in-class writing activities, writing workshops, and process journals. Culminates in the creation and revision of written personal narratives as well as a digital storytelling project.
Advanced Writing in the Sciences
ENGW 3307
Offers instruction in writing for students considering careers or advanced study in the physical or life sciences. By exploring research literature and reflecting on their own experiences, offers students an opportunity to identify issues of interest in their field and analyze how scientific texts make claims, invoke other scientific literature, offer evidence, and deploy key terms. Through analysis and imitation, exposes students to the challenges of the scientific project, such as the use of quantitative data and visual presentation of evidence. In a workshop setting, offers students an opportunity to evaluate a wide variety of sources and develop expertise in audience analysis, critical research, peer review, and revision.
