ANTH 3061 - Anthropology of Death

Content: Benjamin Franklin famously once wrote, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” While he was correct that death remains a universal inevitability, the ways in which people around the world and through time experience death and dying are far from universal. This class takes an anthropological perspective to explore cross-cultural attitudes towards death in both the past and present. We will center the dead body itself as we explore the anthropology of death. The topics we will explore fall under three broad themes: 1) the history and ethics of studying the dead; 2) death rites and the many ways in which diverse human societies have disposed of the dead; and 3) the materiality of the dead body itself and how we can learn about past peoples’ lives through their material remains.

Credits: 4