course description  & objectives:  This topic is the perfect subject for a humanities class:  death is something everyone cares about, it can be studied from many different perspectives, and admits no “correct” answer to the questions people ask about it.  This course combines texts from mythology, literature, religious traditions, philosophy, literature, personal memoir, and intellectual history to discover the ways different cultures have thought about death.  This will not be a psychology class about the stages of death and dying.  Though there are several books, the amount of reading is manageable; it is imperative that you complete the reading before the class meeting for which it is assigned.  By the end of the course, successful students will be able to

·      Analyze and compare the interpretations of death provided by both Asian and Western religious traditions;

·      Analyze and compare evolving cultural understandings of death in western culture;

·      Analyze and interpret how art, literature, and music address the problem of death in a broader aesthetic context;

·      Appraise contemporary understandings of death in a broader cultural and historical perspective.

prerequisite & workload:  While there is no prerequisite for this course, all formal requirements of this section require good reading and writing skills, and eligibility for English 1A would be a distinct advantage—having completed English 1A would be better still.  As you will see, there is a fair amount of reading for this course.  College courses assume that the student will spend two hours outside of class for each hour in  class—thus students should expect to spend about 7 hours preparing for class each week.  I have organized the reading and writing requirements of the course so that you should be able to remain within these boundaries.

format:  Though there are a number of topics on which I will provide background information that will help you make sense of the texts, death is also a subject with which almost every person in the class will have some experience.  Hence I assume that we will also spend a significant amount of time discussing the reading and our reactions to them in light of experience.  The readings will prompt a variety of kinds of responses:  emotional, spiritual, intellectual.  Some of the texts may discuss difficult subjects (genocide, human extinction); you should try to think through your reactions to what we read and be prepared to describe the complexity of the effect of these books on you.

quizzes:  We will begin each week with a quiz whose intent is to “encourage” you to keep up with the reading, so it is important that you come on time.  The quizzes will ask questions about broad themes from the week’s reading.  Each quiz will pose two short answer questions, both of which will be graded 0, 1, or 2, with the total aver­aged.  You must average one point per quiz to pass the class.  There will be no make-ups for quizzes; if you can’t help missing a quiz and wish to make it up, I will have you write something in lieu (for a point) for up to two quizzes if you inform me ahead of time (via email or voicemail if necessary).  The two students with the highest quiz total at the end of the semester earn an “A” in the class without needing to write the final essay, provided they have met all earlier course requirements.  I may drop students who miss any two consecutive quizzes.  Leaving before the end of class may result in your not receiving credit for that day’s quiz.

?:  Students will write four 5-page interpretive essays.  The first essay, on Gilgamesh, will be due September 19.  The second essay, on religious attitudes toward death, will be due October 17.  The third essay, on attitudes toward death in western culture, will be due November 14.  The final essay, on Rwanda and human responses to disaster will be due on December 12.  Each essays is worth 100 points, for a total of 400 points.  End of term grades are assigned as follows:  ≥ 90%, A; ≥ 80% B; ≥ 70% C; ≥ 60% D; < 60% F.  I anticipate providing more guidance on topics, but what follows will give you a preliminary idea of the kinds of topics you'll be writing about.   Plagiarism (cheating) on any course requirement is grounds for failing the course.  You must submit the first essay to remain in the class thereafter.

1st essay:  What do we learn about life and death in The Epic of Gilgamesh?  What theme most stands out to you?  Is it the unfairness of Enkidu's death?  Is it Gilgamesh' quest for immortality?  Is it the failure of Gilgamesh's quest?  Is it a failure?  Does Gilgamesh live on after his death in his city or in the memory provided by the story?

2nd essay:  Discuss how two different religious perspectives (from at least two different weeks) might have changed how Ivan Ilich met his approaching death.  How would his views toward his career, family, health, or the meaning of life itself have changed?  Could he have adopted any of the religious views we’ve studied without making fundamental changes in his life?  Be sure to distinguish between different versions of similar traditions (Native American, Buddhist, Christian, etc.).  How would these beliefs have affected his life views about how life should be lived and what happens after death.

3rd essay:  Philippe Ariès describes a steady evolution of attitudes toward death?  If you had to introduce a cultural conviction regarding one thing (an idea, practice, ritual, etc.) from our earlier readings to "improve" contemporary attitudes, what would that idea be?  What difference would it make?  Incorporate earlier readings as appropriate (this can include earlier chapters in Ariès or earlier texts).

4th essay:  Both We wish to inform you… and A Paradise Built in Hell raise the problem of death as a public and not just a private problem.  How do genocide or the prospect of the collapse of entire human societies shape our attitudes toward life and/or death?

All essays should be five (or more) numbered pages, typed (double-space), spell-checked, proofread. If you use quotations you must cite them properly (I am not fussy about which academic convention you use). Failure to number pages, cite quotes, or spell-check will result in the reduction of your score.

Finally, a note on plagiarism:  I wish it were unnecessary to point this out, but. . . The Internet makes it very easy to find information to submit as though it were your own work. This is called plagiarism, a form of cheating. The Internet also makes it easy to locate the source of text that doesn't quite sound like it was written by a student in an introductory course. Plagiarism on any course assignment will result in you forfeiting all credit for the assignment. Feel free to use the Internet as a resource but remember to always acknowledge work which is not your own. I refer cases of plagiarism on to the Dean of Instruction for appropriate action.

Students with documented disabilities that might impact on their performance in this course should speak with me or contact Disabled Student Services at 222-8060.