Course Description

Knocking on Heaven's Door: Thanatology 101

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Of the two great themes that peoples of all cultures have reflected upon since the dawn of time, love and death, the latter has only been recently addressed in undergraduate curricula. In this important and ground-breaking class, we will attend to central issues dealing with the experiences of dying people; decision-making at the end of life; challenges for the care-givers; manifestations of grief as a healing process; and, that which constitutes a “death system.” Our sources and materials will be drawn from literature, film, psychology, philosophy, religion, ethics and the law. Some of our sessions will feature first-person narratives of individuals discussing real-world scenarios. Students will be expected to interview someone who has lost a loved one and to learn about his or her grief experience; or, to spend one-on-one time with a dying person or a funeral director. We will have a field trip to a local funeral home. Your study of a death system will be an opportunity to explore your local area and learn what policies and resources are in place that affect the death and dying experiences in your community.

As we reflect upon the dying process, we will consider our reactions to our own mortality and that of those close to us.

METHOD OF EVALUATION: Evaluation will be based on class participation, one in-class presentation, and the final five-page essay

PREREQUISITES: None

ENROLLMENT LIMIT: 20

METHOD OF SELECTION: Preference will be given to students who have a special interest in or experience with death and dying.

COST: $30 - 40

MEETING TIME: We will meet two or three afternoons a week.

INSTRUCTORS: Deborah Alecson and David Elpern

Deborah Golden Alecson, M.S. is a thanatologist and author who

teaches, lectures, and writes about death, dying and bereavement. Her books include Lost Lullaby (University of California Press, 1995) and We Are So Lightly Here: A Story About Conscious Dying (Goldenwords, Ink, 2010).

David J. Elpern, M.D is a Williamstown physician who has written and taught courses about the medical humanities for the past thirty years.