Anthropology of Death

Catalog description

Instructional Method: Three hours lecture. Prerequisites: ANSC 106 - Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (GE) AND ANSC 301 - Principles of Archaeology (GE) This course will introduce students to the tremendous diversity of cultural beliefs and practices surrounding that most final of events: death itself. Because the death of a human being is such a meaningful event in all cultures, the beliefs and practices surrounding death offer a rare and valuable window into understanding the living. The complex set of practices and beliefs surrounding death actually teach us far more about the living than the dead; collectively, we refer to these practices and beliefs as deathways. Note(s): Cultural and Behavorial Analysis designated course.