SAMPLE Syllabus

Intro. Conceptual Tools

Week 1

Session 1.        First day of class

Session 2.        Structure and Functions of Religion

Part 1. Eastern Traditions: Hinduism and Buddhism

Week 2

Session 3.        Vedic Hinduism: Death, Creation, and Sacrifice

Session 4.        Upanishads: Death and Immortality

Week 3

Session 5.       Buddhism, Origins

Session 6.       Karmic Moral Cosmology - Geographies of the Afterlife

Week 4

Session 7.        Buddhism, Meditation and Ethics

Session 8.        Buddhism, Mahayana and Pure Land

Week 5

Session 9.        Confucianism, Caring for Ancestors

Session 10.      Chinese Buddhist Ghost Festival

Week 6

Session 11.     Review Session

 Session 12.      Thu        Exam 1

Week 7

Part 2. Medieval and Latin-American Christianity

Session 13.      From Ancient Israel to Early Christianity                  

Session 14.      Heaven, Martyrs and Mystics

Week 8

Session 15.     Heaven, Dante’s ascent

Session 16.      Hell, Justice versus Mercy

Week 9

Spring Break

Week 10

Session 17.      Purgatory

Session 18.      Santa Muerte: Contested Origins

Week 11

Session 19.      Santa Muerte: Structure and Function

Session 20.      Review Session

Part 3. Contemporary American Death Ways

Week 12

Session 21.      Tue         Exam 2

Session 22.      Medicalization of Dying

Week 13

Session 23.      Origins and Dominance of the Funeral Industrial Complex

Session 24.      Death Phobia, American Style 1

Week 14

Session 25.      Death Phobia, American Style 2

Session 26.      Thu         Reflection Assignment 1 due

Week 15

Session 27.      Near-Death Experience 1

Session 27b.    Near-Death Experience 2

 Reflection Assignment 2 due

Week 16

Session 28.      Last day of Class