Understanding Sontag: The Punished Ill
This handout introduces the main arguments of Sontag’s AIDS and Its Metaphors (1988) and considers their relevance today.
ILLNESS LESSON 2: HANDOUT 2
1 class period (45-60 min)
- Art and Culture
Subject Matter > Philosophy
- History and Social Studies
People > LGBT
Themes > Civil Rights
Themes > Culture
Themes > History of Science and Technology
Themes > Modern World
Themes > War and Foreign Policy
- Literature and Language Arts
Genre > Essay
Place > American
Place > Modern World
- Analysis
- Compare and contrast
- Critical thinking
- Cultural analysis
- Discussion
- Evaluating arguments
- Historical analysis
- Interpretation
- Literary analysis
- Making inferences and drawing conclusions
- Summarizing
- Synthesis
- Textual analysis
- ELA Reading: 1, 3-4, 7, 10
- ELA Speaking & Listening: 1-2
- ELA Language: 4-6
- HSS Reading: 1-2, 4, 7-10
Complete the lesson now with one of our Student Activity Options
ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY
- Assign introductory chapters or the full text of Sontag’s AIDS and Its Metaphors in advance. To deepen reflection, assign a selection on AIDS from Siddhartha Mukherjee’s The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer (pp. 315- 319) and/or further readings and screenings on HIV/AIDS from the Illness Unit Research
handout. - Reflection and concluding questions may also be assigned as short essays or response papers.