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IHP Death & Dying

Perspectives, Practices & Policies

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Through a life-affirming exploration of the meanings of death, examine how this “taboo” topic inspires artistic expression and social movements and reinforces cultural identities.

At a Glance

Credits

16

Prerequisites

None

Courses taught in

English

Dates

Aug 26 – Dec 8

Program Countries

Ghana, Indonesia, Mexico

Program Base

USA, Ghana, Mexico, Indonesia

Critical Global Issue of Study

Identity & Human Resilience

Program Cost

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Overview

Why a comparative study of death and dying?

*Program coming soon.

The subject of death is so taboo in American culture that people use metaphors to avoid talking about it while also using death-laden language in everyday communication. This contradiction leaves many Americans death illiterate, with limited functional knowledge of the process of death and dying, the psychology of bereavement, or end-of-life planning. Travel to New York City and three countries with higher levels of death acceptance, Ghana, Mexico, and Indonesia, to understand how cultural practices, social policies, and creative communities confront and celebrate death. 

Start in New York City where you will meet deathcare workers, dark tourism operators, community organizers, and spiritual leaders to understand death and dying on a neighborhood and national scale. In Ghana, explore how death is viewed as a celebration of life, while investigating the ethics of dark tourism and how historical traumas impact Ghana and the U.S. Your next stop is Mexico where you will witness how Indigenous beliefs and Catholicism contribute to contemporary attitudes, rituals, and practices and how grassroots organizers advocate for people preparing to die. Lastly, in Indonesia learn about perspectives on death where the line between life and death lies in a gray area as shown through contemporary practices and traditional art. 

Receive up to $1,000 in flight credits when you join this new program! Learn more HERE

Highlights

  • Examine how different cultures conceptualize and celebrate death.
  • Engage in “death over dinner” conversations facilitated by local leaders, deathcare workers, and community members.
  • Interview changemakers fighting against policies that preserve life for the privileged and perpetuate death for marginalized peoples.
  • Learn to “read a cemetery” from multiple perspectives by interpreting the symbolism, aesthetics, and history of gravesites.
  • Acknowledge, critique, and define what it means to engage in ethical dark tourism.

Prerequisites

None

program map

Program Sites

New York, USA

As ground zero of the 9/11 attacks and a city hit severely by the COVID-19 pandemic, New York City has stories to tell about death and dying on a neighborhood and national scale. You will visit the mausoleums of Gilded Age families, learn about the mass graves on Hart Island, and travel through NYC’s boroughs (and Westchester County) as you explore program themes. Meet with deathcare workers, dark tourism operators, community organizers, and spiritual leaders to learn what it means to die in the city that never sleeps.

Accra, Ghana 

Multiethnic Ghana knows how to put the “fun” in funeral. Between the decorative fantasy coffins that symbolize the deceased, dancing pallbearers, and week-long feasts, death is truly a celebration of life. But buried not far beneath the spectacle of public mourning are national and geopolitical legacies of death and dying. Witness how historical traumas continue to impact both Ghana and the U.S. as you journey to Elmina Castle and the Cape Coast, major centers for the transatlantic slave trade, and contemplate the significance of memorialization and the ethics of thanatourism (dark tourism).

Oaxaca, Mexico

Mexico’s vibrant death culture is so unique and well-known that it is easily associated with national identity. Though good for tourism, the abundance of sugar skulls colorfully masks the socio-political determinants of death faced by the Mexican people. Go beyond el Día de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead) to see how the syncretism of Indigenous beliefs and Catholicism results in contemporary attitudes, rituals, and practices. Unpack how policies – domestic and foreign – perpetuate systems that devalue human life. Be inspired by the work of grassroot organizers who advocate for life at the border of death.

Bali, Indonesia

Death in Indonesia is as diverse as its islands and people. From Balinese cremation ceremonies to Torajan funerals, death practices across Indonesia reinforce and differentiate community and cultural identity. You will learn perspectives on death from spiritual leaders, community members, artists, and activists. In many cases, the line separating life and death is permeable, as evidenced in contemporary practices and represented through traditional arts. This gray area, however, is problematic when it comes to national mortality rates, which suffer from inadequate data collection. 

Please note that SIT will make every effort to maintain its programs as described. To respond to emergent situations, however, SIT may have to change or cancel programs.

Academics

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the program, students will be able to: 

  • Interpret the role of death in the formation and preservation of cultural identity.
  • Analyze social structures and policies that perpetuate disparities in mortality rates.
  • Evaluate the cultural and humanistic value of imagined and memorialized death. 
  • Demonstrate death literacy in personal end-of-life planning and bereavement allyship.
  • Apply ethical fieldwork techniques and intercultural communication skills to engage in community and scholarly activities related to the subject of death.
  • Facilitate productive discussions about death, dying, and bereavement. 

Read more about Program Learning Outcomes.



Coursework

The following syllabi are representative of this program. Because courses develop and change over time to take advantage of dynamic learning opportunities, actual course content will vary from term to term.

The syllabi can be useful for students, faculty, and study abroad offices in assessing credit transfer. Read more about credit transfer.

Please expand the sections below to see detailed course information, including course codes, credits, overviews, and syllabi.


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Dying to Know: Interdisciplinary Seminar on Death

Dying to Know: Interdisciplinary Seminar on Death (syllabus coming soon)
(4 credits)

This interdisciplinary seminar examines the humanistic value of imagined and memorialized death while supporting death literacy. Students will engage with diverse texts/media that reflect, shape, and challenge attitudes toward death and dying. It will also examine death within subcultures, including informal death practices, roadside memorials, memorial tattoos, and virtual in memoria. Counterbalancing these texts will be experiential learning opportunities to provide practical information about death, dying, and bereavement. Through these multipronged lines of inquiry, the course will equip students with the functional knowledge and skills to integrate end of life planning into their life plans (if not their career plans). 

Cross-cultural Perspectives on Death, Dying, and Bereavement

Cross-cultural Perspectives on Death, Dying, and Bereavement (syllabus coming soon)
(4 credits)

Although death is universal, there is no universal approach to death and dying. This course explores death, dying, and bereavement from the perspective of comparative cultural anthropology with an emphasis on funerary rites and practices. The course will broadly survey death and dying from different regional and cultural contexts accompanied by in–depth exploration of the attitudes, symbols, and practices of the host locations. Course content will also delve into death-related superstitions and alternate discourses. Topics will include the role of religion, philosophy, Indigenous knowledge, and historical events in determining the meaning of death. Through the process of learning anthropological perspectives in the context of death practices, the course will clarify how explorations of the unfamiliar may operate as a reflexive tool to show that a person’s own culture or worldview is one among many, rather than a norm through which difference is understood. 

Sociology of Death: Deaths that Count and Lives that Matter

Sociology of Death: Deaths that Count and Lives that Matter (syllabus coming soon)
(4 credits)

Death comes to us all – but not equally. This course examines the socio-political determinants of death across age, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, and social class. Deep dives into global, national, and local mortality rates and leading causes of death will provide insight into whose lives matter, prompting a closer examination of the policies that preserve life for the privileged few and perpetuate death for the marginalized masses. Along the way, we will learn from activists and educators who are advocating for equitable living conditions and life-affirming social change. We will also look at deaths that moved people into action. 

Project Death: Community Engagement and Ethical Inquiry

Project Death: Community Engagement and Ethical Inquiry (syllabus coming soon)
(4 credits)

This course incorporates two modalities of project-based learning – community action and self-directed inquiry – to enhance students’ understanding of death and dying. At each location, students will have opportunities to engage with local organizations and contribute to relevant community-initiated projects. Through their participation, students will gain experience in respectful collaboration and intercultural communication as they gain insights into how local communities care for their dead, dying, and bereaved. Students will further apply what they have learned about ethical and appropriate engagement with host communities to their inquiry-based projects wherein they explore divergent responses to their research questions. Through these forms of project-based learning, students will develop a holistic and informed perspective on death and dying. 

Housing

Accommodations

Student accommodations will include a mix of homestays, hostels, guesthouses, and small hotels/dorms. Students will experience homestays and will be oriented as they move from place to place. 

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  • Cost & Scholarships

    Cost information coming soon. 

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