Eva Reineck L&S Arts & Humanities
Cancer as a Moral Agent: a Metaphor Analysis Across Six Dialects
When patients describe cancer as an enemy to be fought or a thief that steals time, they are assigning agency and blame to the disease, and implicitly to themselves. These moral metaphors, which cast cancer as an entity with intent, shape how patients understand their illness and evaluate their own resilience.
This project aims to look at how metaphors that frame cancer as a moral agent differ across patient, caregiver, and institutional perspectives in English, French, and Spanish, and investigates the psychological implications of these differences.
This project introduces two underexplored dimensions: the caregiver perspective as a distinct analytical category and a cross-linguistic comparison across six dialects: American English, Canadian English, Hexagonal French (of France), Canadian French, Mexican Spanish, and Peninsular Spanish. This project will produce the first trilingual comparative analysis of moral cancer metaphors across patient, caregiver, and institutional perspectives. Through this research, I will contribute to the development of culturally sensitive oncological care in Francophone and Hispanophone communities.
Message To Sponsor
Thank you for your generous support and for the opportunity to grow as a researcher. As an undergraduate student, I am incredibly grateful to have the chance to lead original research regarding a subject matter that I am passionate about. Your generosity will allow me to investigate how language shapes perception within the medical field and will contribute to more compassionate, culturally informed oncological care.