SOC 415 Sociology of Death & Dying

SOC 415 Sociology of Death & Dying
Online

Death and dying are generally not welcome topics, and many people do not want to consider–let alone discuss–their own death or how they will live through the dying process. As Woody Allen said in Without Feathers (1976), “It’s not that I’m afraid to die. I just don’t want to be there when it happens!” However, many of us want – and need – to discuss death and dying. When people do confront and either accept or deny death and dying – and handle bereavement, each does so as member of a group(s) and as a member of a society. How we cope with death and dying is, therefore, impacted by our group memberships (gender, religious or cultural beliefs, etc.) and social norms. This course, then, will examine thanatology (the study of death, dying, and bereavement) from a sociological perspective, exploring how we socially construct death, dying, and bereavement in the United States - and will include how death and dying have been impacted by the pandemic.  (For more information, contact Dr. Jonetta Weber.)