SOC 16DEATH AND DYING

Catalog

Provides a background on historical and contemporary perspectives on death and dying. Course focuses on the social, political, and cultural and cross-cultural meanings and practices regarding death in the United States. Topics include: attitudes, beliefs, and meanings of death and dying through the life course, the American experience of death, sociological theoretical perspectives, the dying process, living with dying, the American Health Care System, hospice care, end-of-life decisions, suicide, types of death, euthanasia and biomedical issues, bereavement, grief, mourning, the funeral process, legal and business aspects of dying, cultural norms, and dealing with the death of a loved one.