Death and Dying
Religion W343
Temple University, Ambler Campus

Summer II 1998
Mondays and Wednesdays, 4:40-7:35 p.m.
Instructor: Liz Nutting

lizard@astro.ocis.temple.edu

Welcome to the Ambler Summer Session section of Temple University's Death and Dying class. As the semester progresses, check this web page for interesting links, your classmates' papers, changes to the syllabus, etc.


8/8 Update: Some of you have been asking how to cite from online sources. A useful reference for this can be found at "A Brief Citation Guide for Internet Sources in History." The examples in this guide are based on Turabian/Chicago Manual of Style.

8/6 Update: Check out the Student Writing Page [available only at the original site] to read your own and your classmates' Journal Entries. There are also two extra credit reviews up, so check those out too!

7/29 Update: I've placed a photocopy of Good Night, My Son on reserve in the Ambler Library, in case it doesn't arrive in the bookstore in time.(BR> I also wanted to recommend that you check out the Final Choices story at the Philadelphia Inquirer's Online web site. This Pulitzer Prize-winning story follows five people making end-of-life decisions--whether to do life-support in the hospital or hospice, for example. It's an excellent series.

7/9 Update:I want to call your attention to some additions to the recommended readings on the syllabus. The recommended readings are designed to supplement the required readings; in some cases, I've asked you to choose one of these recommended readings to add to your reading for a particular class. These additions will give you a wider range of material to choose from. You can access these on-line readings by clicking here on their highlighted titles or by going to the Course Readings page and following the links there.
I've added three items to the recommended readings for 7/15. First, there is material from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America entitled Guidelines for Funerals. The ELCA is the largest Lutheran denomination in the U.S., and these guidelines offer insight into their theology of funerals. Next are two articles from a Jewish perspective, "Jewish Funeral Customs" and "Jewish Views on the Afterlife," both by Lisa Alcal ay Klug. Also, under the recommended readings for 7/27, look for Joanna Rom's article "On Losing a Parent: Tips on Coping," also written from a Jewish perspective.

EXTRA CREDIT: To earn extra credit, you can read one of the books recommended below or a book of your own choosing, or view a movie or video related to our class AND write a 1-2 page review to be posted here on our Web site. If you're interested, see me. Here are some ideas for things you could read or see:

  1. The Sweet Hereafter. This is a Canadian film about the aftermath of a schoolbus accident that kills several children from a small town. It examines the different ways families react to tragedy and grief.
  2. Death: The Trip of a Lifetime. This is the video companion to the book by Greg Palmer, some of which we've read for class. JoAnne, one of the librarians at Ambler, has been very generous and brought in her own videos of the PBS series. The videos are on 2-hour reserve, so if you wish to view them, you can do so in the library.
  3. Heaven's Coast by Mark Doty. This book is his reflections on the death from AIDS of his life partner.
  4. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. This is the true story of a successful sportswriter who visits his favorite high school teacher during the last weeks of the older mans death.
  5. One True Thing by Anna Quindlan. A moving novel about a woman on trial for helping her mother to die. She describes the dying process and the factors that led to the character's decision.

The Course Syllabus:

There are several useful Web sites dealing with Death and Dying:

I am indebted to Ruth Tonner Ost of Temple University's Honor's Program for her help with readings and allowing me to borrow liberally from her syllabus.

Feel free to email me with questions or comments about the class!

Return to Liz Nutting's homepage.



http://www.wlu.ca/~wwwaar/syllabi/death_and_dying-nutting.html

Latest update: August 02, 2002
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