Course Memo
This course will sample various medical, religious, artistic, and pastoral perspectives on the end of life. In addition to studying different beliefs and practices around the world and throughout history related to death, grieving and the afterlife, students will be encouraged to engage these topics experientially, by encountering people who work with the dying and the grieving, and by visiting places where funerals and burials take place. We will also survey contemporary “death positive” movements, such as “Reimagine End of Life” festivals and Death Cafes. Through course assignments, students will have the opportunity to reflect on their belief systems and desires concerning their own death.