RELI280

[WesMaps Home Page] [Course Search] [Course Search by CID]

RELI280

Death and the Afterlife in World Cultures RELI280 FA

Crosslistings: ANTH280

Section	Class Size	*Available	Times
1	20	0	Times: ..W.... 1:30PM-4:00PM;

*The number of spaces listed as available is based on class seats open for the current phase of registration. Some seats may be taken in previous phases while others may be held out for subsequent phases of registration. (Last Updated on Wed Mar 4 05:01:03 EST 1998 )

Photo Caption and Credits

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: UG Credit: 1.00 Gen Ed Area & Dept: SBS RELI

Prerequisites: None

Section 01: Lester, R; Times: ..W.... 1:30PM- 4:00PM;; Grading Mode: A/F; Registration Preference (1 high to 6 low, 0=Excluded) Sr: 0, Jr: 0, So: 0, Fr: 1; No Major Preference Given

Last Updated on MAR-03-1998

About the Photo:

Tollund man, who died by ritual hanging in the first century BC and whose body was preserved from a Danish peat bog.

Reference:

Daniel, Glyn. A SHORT HISTORY OF ARCHAEOLOGY, London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 1981

Contact wesmaps@wesleyan.edu to submit comments or suggestions.