Death, Dying and the Corpse (L6307AID)
Death, Dying and the Corpse
Module L6307AID
Module details for 2022/23.
30 credits
FHEQ Level 6
Module Outline
This module will introduce students to different ways of thinking about death, dying and dead
bodies, by introducing students to a range of different epistemological and ontological
understandings of the dead and their treatment. Exploring cross-cultural understanding and
real world examples, it will ask critical questions such as: when does death occur? Is death the
end of life? What is a corpse? How do different societies care for the dead? How can relations
to the dead illuminate understandings of social worlds, politics, economics, and religion? How
does technology, art, and media, affect understandings and relations to the dead? What is the
role of violence in understanding death and the dead? What is a good death?
The overall aim of the module is to broaden students understanding and awareness of
different approaches to death and dying, and to question essentialised positions related to
these. Understanding how people relate to death and the dead in different contexts also
evokes questions of the body, self, and other, illuminating issues such as, what makes mass
killing possible? What does inquity in identification projects tell us about inequality and
discrimination? How does treatment of the dead illuminate political and social realities for
the living? This therefore helps explore what it means to be human today.
The teaching will include lectures, seminars, fieldtrips, interactive sessions, and audiovisual
engagement. The assessment will be a project, with open format depending on the students’
interest and desires. This will be developed throughout the course, and handed in in week 11.
Module learning outcomes
Demonstrate understanding of death studies in international perspective
Compare different understandings of death and dying using appropriate
theoretical and conceptual tools
Apply cross cultural understanding on death and the dead to communicate
a comprehensive understanding of the variety of death practices, and their
wider relation to social worlds
Understand and communicate in-depth case studies on death, dying,
and/or dead bodies
| Term | Method | Duration | Week pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn Semester | Workshop | 3 hours | 11111111111 |
How to read the week pattern
The numbers indicate the weeks of the term and how many events take place each week.
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