1st Mini-paper
You will come across topics that you wanted to know more about—now is the opportunity. You must do ONE mini-papers. Find a fairly limited topic that relates to this course, and write a short researched paper on how we got to the contemporary interpretation of the idea or practice.
Here are some ideas:
⦁ How has reading about the evolution or change in the Western tradition of death influenced your thinking about death? How do you feel about having a body in your house for several days? What do you do when the ground is too cold and hard to dig? What do zoos do with large animals when they die? Why did “cavemen” and other ancestors bury their dead? Why has our culture’s attitude toward hospice changed? What about cremation and other alternative disposition of bodies?
⦁ An artifact of death in Western culture is often the color black. In Eastern traditions, it is often white. In other cultures, it is yellow. Why are the colors different, and why did those colors become associated with death? Does your religion or tradition have a “color preference”?
⦁ Why are women often assigned the task of washing bodies for burial in non-industrialized cultures? Are there parallels to the preparations made by the ancient Egyptians?
⦁ How effective are advance directives and living wills (see examples at Five Wishes at http://www.agingwithdignity.org/ )
⦁ Where did the custom of taking off one’s hat when a funeral passed come from? What other customs have a rational history?
⦁ Why are bodies “dressed” in special clothes for death practices?
⦁ What aspect of your religion’s death customs do you find intriguing? What is its origin? Why does it interest you?
⦁ Why do some religions require a “quick” burial?
⦁ Peter Berger (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_L._Berger⦁ (Links to an external site.)) says that religion has been secularized, that while our religious views shape how we view death, the worldly context in which we live also has a tremendous impact. How has your own worldly view altered your religious view of death?
⦁ Burials customs and options vary greatly even within our culture. Look at the examples in Chapters 3 and 5 and find one you want to explore further.
⦁ Why do the periods of mourning vary in at least two religious traditions? Why are certain time periods selected?
⦁ What is the relationship between bad luck practices (not walking under a ladder) and death?
⦁ Why does the Nile mirror the Egyptian understanding and practice of death?
⦁ What is the connection between some aspects of Jewish burials and those of the North American Apaches?
⦁ What are eating habits associated with funerals? Why did India have to pass legislation to protect vultures from the hormones ingested by cows? What is a funeral casserole?
⦁ What cultures do not forbid cannibalism and why?
Write 3-5 pages for each topic you choose (including citations) at least. You must use at least three sources outside your text (you may use sources mentioned in your text as a starting point but not as one of the three).
