REL 3250 - Death and Dying

Goals: This course will examine death and dying from a range of perspectives and multiple methodologies.

Content: The texts we will read include a) philosophical and theological reflections on the meanings(s) of death, how we should live in the face of death, and the possibility and desirability of immortality; b) psychological analyses of death anxiety, grief, and mourning; c) anthropological and sociological examinations of death rituals, suicide, and institutions surrounding death; d) accounts from Confucian, Daoist, Buddhist, and Christian traditions about the nature of death and the after-life; and e) debates on controversial issues including euthanasia, war and pacifism, capital punishment and factory farming. We will also read literary treatments (short stories, poems, excerpts from novels) on many of these issues, and view films that focus on these topics.

Taught: Alternate years

Prerequisites: Any religion course

Credits: 4