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Graduation Term
Spring 2026
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Department of English: Writing
Committee Chair
Elzbieta Przybylo
Committee Member
Jose Antonio Villaran
Committee Member
Katherine Ellison
Abstract
The intent of this project is to combine narrative and research in a way that makes the research portions more accessible to the everyday person. The goal was to use second person narration and side notes to make the work equally more impactful and more accessible. The topic for this project is the ways that the health care is racist, ableist, and poverty inducing. The pedagogical chapter of this work also discusses themes of exclusion, especially in the writing world, as my chapter aims to prove supporting writers’ identities results in writers who are more confident.
For the essay collection, my work was divided into narrative and facts. For the facts, I read books varying from Black Madness studies and the Gender Gap pain to women in the reproductive rights movement. The interviews were conducted using feminist interview methods then used to write the narrative portions of both biography and memoir on the ways the interviewees were mistreated by health care.
This work is an experimental technique in a way to incorporate research which I hope will be modeled by other writers after its publication. In terms of content, it is joining a long history of pain narratives but lending itself to bridge the gap between research and narrative at the same time. My hope is this project will be a support to others who have experienced such medical trauma as well as a beacon in the constant advocation by people or color and those with disabilities for better treatment.
Access Type
Dissertation-ISU Access Only
Recommended Citation
Williams, Kayla Pica, "Dying to Live: The Killing of United States Citizens Through the Health Care System" (2026). Theses and Dissertations. 2337.
https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/etd/2337