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Academic Year 2000/2001
Death and the Afterlife in World Cultures
RELI 280 FA
Beliefs and practices concerning death and the afterlife vary considerably across cultures and illuminate many key (often unarticulated) values about society. Death rituals may embody formal religious doctrines, or they
may be in direct opposition to
them; they simultaneously celebrate life as they mourn death. This course will explore the social and religious meanings of rituals of death, notions of the soul, sacred geographies of the other world, and the impact of
secularization and science on the
afterlife concept in the context of anthropological theories and rich case studies.
MAJOR READINGS
Santino: HALLOWEEN AND OTHER FESTIVALS OF LIFE AND DEATH
Block and Parry: DEATH AND THE REGENERATION OF LIFE Danforth: THE DEATH RITUALS OF RURAL GREECE Huntington & Metcalf: CELEBRATION OF DEATH: THE
ANTHROPOLOGY OF MORTUARY
RITUAL
Stannard: THE PURITAN WAY OF DEATH
Zaleski: OTHERWORLD JOURNEYS: ACCOUNTS OF NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES IN MEDIEVAL AND MODERN TIMES
EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS
Three short writing assignments, mid-term and final papers.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS
This course fulfills the "Religion in Society" departmental requirement for majors.
Unless preregistered students attend the first class meeting or communicate directly with the instructor prior to the first class, they will be dropped from the class list. NOTE: Students must still submit a completed
Drop/Add form to the Registrar's
Office.
COURSE FORMAT:
Discussion
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Level:
UGRD
Credit:
1
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS RELI
Grading Mode:
Graded
Prerequisites:
NONE
SECTION 01
- Instructor(s): Smyers,Karen A.
- Times: ..T.T.. 01:10PM-02:30PM; Location: FISK413
- Reserved Seats: (Total Limit: 30)
- SR. major: 5 Jr. major: 5
- SR. non-major: 5 Jr. non-major: 5 SO: 5 FR: 5
Special Attributes:
Links to Web Resources For This Course.
Last Updated on MAR-26-2001
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Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459