Discipline: Humanities Degree Credit  [X]
Non Credit  [ ]
Nondegree Credit  [ ]
Comm Service  [ ]
 

Riverside Community College District
Integrated Course Outline of Record

Humanities 18


COURSE DESCRIPTION
18 Death: an Interdisciplinary Study Units: 3.00
 
Prerequisite(s): None.

Advisory: Qualification for English 1A
An interdisciplinary study of death from historical, mythological, religious, philosophical, and biological perspectives. The evolving way in which world cultures have understood the problem of death is studied through works of literature, art, and philosophy. 54 hours lecture.
 
SHORT DESCRIPTION FOR CLASS SCHEDULE
An interdisciplinary study of death from historical, mythological, religious, philosophical, and biological perspectives.
 
ADVISORY ENTRY SKILLS
Before entering the course, students will be able to:
  1. Critically discuss and analyze primary and secondary texts, recognizing key ideas and responding in both oral and written form;

  2. Analyze, synthesize, and evaluate concepts studied in primary and secondary texts using intermediate to advanced critical thinking skills;

  3. Compose developed, unified, stylistically competent writing assignments and adjust writing to the target audience with intermediate to advanced skill.
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
 Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to:

Describe the various kinds of biological breakdown that lead to death.

Analyze and compare the interpretations of death provided by both Asian and Western monotheistic religious traditions.

Analyze and compare evolving cultural understandings of death in western culture.

Analyze and interpret how art, literature, and music address the problem of death in a broader aesthetic context.

Appraise contemporary understandings of death in a broader cultural and historical perspective.
 
COURSE CONTENT
  TOPICS
 
  1. Evolving understandings of death in western cultures
  2. Death In Mythology
    1. Gilgamesh
    2. Greek
    3. Roman
  3. Death In Religious and Philosophical Thinking
    1. Confucianism
    2. Taoism
    3. Hinduism
    4. Buddhism
    5. Judaism,
    6. Christianity
    7. Islam 
    8. The immortality of the soul in Plato.
  4. Death In the Arts
    1. Western painting
    2. Requiem mass
  5. Biological Death 
    1. Abortion
    2. End-of-life ethical and legal issues
    3. Physician assisted suicide
    4. Plague and cultural mortality
 
METHODS OF INSTRUCTION
 Methods of instruction used to achieve student learning outcomes may include, but are not limited to:

  • Class lectures/discussions on the understanding of the meaning of death in a range of classic texts in mythology, literature, philosophy and religion.
  • Videos/films/slides/audio tapes on the understanding and depiction of death in various cultures.
  • Pair and small group activities/discussion interpreting the meaning of death and afterlife I various religious and philosophical texts.
  • Guest lecturers on the interpretation of various key works in which death is a central theme.
  • Field trips to cemeteries, mortuaries, morgues.
  • On-line instruction devoted to exploring the resources for the study of death and its understanding on the Internet.

 
 
METHODS OF EVALUATION
 Students will be evaluated for progress in and/or mastery of learning outcomes by methods of evaluation which may include, but are not limited to:

  • The writing of a minimum of 3000 words of formal interpretive prose.
  • Quizzes/examinations exploring students’ understanding of class readings.
  • Written assignments interpreting in depth selected class readings
  • Oral reports/presentations on contemporary attitudes and practices treating the dead
  • Class and individual projects examining the persistence and decline of traditional attitudes and practices concerning the meaning of death and the treatment of the dead
  • Final examination providing an overview of central texts and themes from the class.
ASSIGNMENTS

Required Reading Assignments


Required Writing Assignments


Other Outside-of-Class Assignments
 
COURSE MATERIALS
 All materials used in this course will be periodically reviewed to ensure that they are appropriate for college level instruction. Possible texts include:

  • Ariès, Philippe. Western Attitudes Toward Death: From the Middle Ages to the Present. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1974.
  • Diamond, Jared. Collapse. New York: Viking. New York: Picador, 1998.
  • Enright, D. J.. The Oxford Book of Death. New York: Oxford University Press, 1983.
  • Groopman, Jerome . The Measure of Our Days. New York: Penguin, 1998.
  • Kramer, Kenneth. The Sacred Art of Dying: How World Religions Understand Death. New York: Paulist Press, 1988.
  • Nuland, Sherwin. How We Die: Reflections on Life’s Final Chapter. New York: Alfred A. Knop, 1994.
  • Sandars, N. K.. The Epic of Gilgamesh. New York: Penguin, 1972.
  • Gourevitch, Philip. We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families
  • Tolstoy, Leo. The Death of Ivan Ilych.
  • Plato, The Phaedo
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