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Teaching The Immortal Life:

Pedagogy Ideas from EN272.302December 2013

What does it mean to impose a narrative, even a semi-linear one, on a real person’s life? How does Skloot’s effort compare to Neihardt’s?

Topic #1: Editorial Intervention

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“You can’t change a person’s reality, you can only build on top of it.”

No one’s life is coordinated in a linear fashion. When a writer interprets someone’s life, they end up imposing a narrative, which is a form of interpretation.

Pedagogical activity: Teach the question of editorial intervention through the telephone game, either in small groups of four or as one large class. Try to communicate a consistent message about Henrietta Lacks’s life from person to person.

Teaching the Question

Does Rebecca Skloot’s inclusion of herself as a character complicate this text? How so? Can you compare her to Nick, Irene, or other unstable narrators we have seen throughout the semester?

Topic #2: Unstable Narration

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Skloot may or may not be an unstable narrator. But she introduced Henrietta Lacks’s story by talking about her search to find research, which makes her more stable than Nick or Irene.

The book was also easy to read and organized via timelines—both the timeline of Henrietta Lacks’s life and that of Rebecca Skloot’s research.

Pedagogical activity: Clues to stable or unstable narration are often found in the form of a text, more than its content. Work in small groups to create a Venn diagram which compares the writing styles of Rebecca Skloot (The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks) and Nella Larsen (Passing).

Teaching the Question

What role does spirituality play in our understanding of HeLa’s identity or of American identity generally? Compare the spirituality we see in this book to other works from this semester. Why is spiritual fervor still such an important part of American life?

Topic #3: Spirituality

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Both Black Elk Speaks and The Immortal Life considered the question of holy bodies and holy spirits.

HeLa cells represent Henrietta’s spirit. Her immortal cells have helped millions of people.

Black Elk’s spiritual vision gave him the physical strength to help his people on earth. The spirits of his ancestors were alive in him.

Pedagogical activity: Half of the class would chart out the ways in which body and spirit are at work in Black Elk Speaks, while half would do the same for The Immortal Life. Then, the entire class would come together to build a list of commonalities between the two texts.

Teaching the Question

What does the argument between Deborah and Rebecca symbolize or bring up? How does Deborah and Rebecca’s relationship compare to other relationships we have observed this semester?

Topic #4: Relationships

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Deborah and Rebecca’s argument reflects the frustration one has with sensitive family issues. There’s a taboo theme of illness and injustice, which is not generally discussed. The daughter wants to protect her mother and has a sense of authority, but Rebecca wants to push the envelope to develop a stronger story.

Pedagogical activity: A high-energy, fast-paced interviewing activity, almost like speed dating. Students would pair off and take turns being the journalist, a “devil’s advocate” trying to get as much information as possible, and the interviewee, determined not to lose their own agency or privacy. Large group reflection and comparison to Black Elk Speaks and The Immortal Life would follow.

Teaching the Question

What role do you think health care is going to play in our understanding of American identity in the coming years?

Topic #5: Looking Forward

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How would the world be different without HeLa cells?

The class would get into small groups and brainstorm significant American health care contributions. Then they’d use that brainstorming to come up with 3 new health care advances that would make the America “the best country in the world.”

Finally, each group would be asked to come up with their own health care plan. How would it benefit the United States? What past contributions would it use? What new ideas could be introduced?

We think that in the future everyone will have health care, and that Americans will be equal in that respect. There may be a race for strides in health care between countries.

Teaching the Question