DEATH THEOLOGIES AND RITUALS IN CHAPLAINCY (PR-8375)

This course is co-taught by Kamal Abu-Shamsieh and Rebecca Esterson. This seminar course explores interreligious and inter-cultural approaches to end-of-life as death is a multi-faceted experience with various implications: physical, theological, ethical, legal, communal, familial, and personal. Students will examine caring for diverse communities, examine their own end-of-life beliefs and traditions, and articulate their understanding of how their views prepare them to care for diverse communities. Furthermore, students will study how death is understood and what rituals are practiced when dying, and during funerals, burial, and grief. Students are expected to join a weekly synchronous class for 90 minutes and engage in synchronous activities (reading, online posting, two reflection papers, and a final research paper). Open to MDiv, MA/MTS, DMin, and PhD students. [30 max enrollment; Auditors excluded]