Death and Bereavement

Catalog description

The course takes a social and developmental perspective to illuminate an often hidden, but significant dimension of human development in the context of death-related encounters, attitudes, historical patterns, cultural variations, as well as the complexities of the American death system. In considering death-related patterns in society, it explores notable examples like 'human-induced death' (e.g., suicides, accidents and homicides), 'socially sanctioned death' (e.g., violence from war, genocide, and terrorism), and the characterization of death in daily discourse, the media, and present day death rituals. Key issues and questions from the field are discussed at both individual and societal levels, which include the meaning of death, facing death across the life-course, the sociocultural context of death, bereavement and grief, the death industry, and ethical and legal issues surrounding death. Examining the variegated meanings in different social institutional spheres, such as ethics, politics, mass media, and family from a social-scientific perspective, the course helps students recognize and appreciate that death and bereavement are deeply embedded into social and cultural structures of society, including how we learn about death, the typical ways in which our attitudes and beliefs are shaped, and how death and bereavement affect children, adolescents, adults, and older adults. It also addresses issues specific to death/dying in careers Human Development and Family Studies prepares for in terms of death education and bereavement counseling.