"What Sociology and the Illness Narratives Can Teach Us About Living with Chronic Illness"

Sunday, November 19, 2023, 4 p.m. Eastern Time

Helen McGunnigle

Helen McGunnigle is a graduate of Hampshire College where she studied pre-medical sciences and conducted an ethnographic study of college students living with contested chronic illness (including chronic or post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome, ME/CFS, and fibromyalgia) for her senior thesis. In this Sunday Conversation, Helen highlighted the findings from this research project, exploring the early histories of these illnesses and what exactly makes them so contested. Following the discussion, she lead a conversation on the impacts of living with chronic illness.

Helen McGunnigle is a current volunteer of Mass ME/CFS who helps run and develop the Sunday Conversations programming. She received her bachelor’s degree from Hampshire College and currently lives in Pennsylvania working as a clinical research coordinator.

Materials from the presentation:

• Slides from the presentation
• Transcript of Helen's presentation
• Full recording (This version contains chapter headings for easier viewing)