A cultural, ethical, medical and legal exploration of Japanese and American Societies

Catalog description

How can someone be dead in America but alive in Japan? Why does Japan have among the lowest rates of life-saving organ transplantation in the world despite being a highly developed society? While death is broadly considered an absolute biological event, the space between life and death may be blurry and influenced by often-competing forces. This course will explore historical, anthropological, ethical, and medical constructs around death and dying, brain death and organ transplantation. Through in-classroom and experiential learning, we will compare the US and Japanese perspectives and will include unique cultural, ethical, and medical experiences in Osaka and Kyoto, Japan.