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Death, Dying and the Corpse (L6307A)

30 credits, Level 6

Autumn teaching

This module introduces you to various ways of thinking about death, dying, and dead bodies through different perspectives. Using cross-cultural understandings and real-world examples, you'll explore 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 relationships with the dead shape understandings of social worlds, politics, economics, and religion?
• how do technology, art, and media impact our understanding and relationships with the dead?
• what is the role of violence in understanding death and the dead?
• what constitutes a good death?

You'll broaden your understanding of death and dying, challenging existing perspectives and exploring the body, self and other in relation to death. You’ll examine issues such as:

• the conditions that make mass killing possible
• inequality in identification projects and what they reveal about discrimination
• how treatment of the dead reflects political and social realities for the living.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 300 hours of work. This breaks down into about 33 hours of contact time and about 267 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2024/25. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.