Qualia: A Personal Ethnography

Abstract

Schizophrenia is a complex mental disorder which affects nearly 1% of the population. This thesis is an ethnography and memoir over the life of Zachary Poston, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia at nineteen years of age. This work uses a literary memoir, poetry, and art made both in and out of psychotic states. Though this memoir will not give answers or a conclusion, it will give a perspective into the unique life schizophrenia forces upon a person and the challenges and experiences that come with it.