ANSC 415 - Anthropology of Death

Credits: (3)

Instructional Method: Three hours lecture.
Prerequisites: ANSC 106: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology AND ANSC 301: Principles of Archaeology
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.