Dedicated to examining cultural attitudes about aging and mortality, students have the opportunity to engage with literary non-fiction, fiction and poetry concerned with these complex subjects. Emphasizing iconic works and lesser-known treasures such as (but not limited to) Muriel Burbery’s The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Simone de Beauvoir’s The Coming of Age, Thomas Lacquer’s The Work of the Dead, Sogyal Rinpoche’s The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, Caitlyn Doughty’s When Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematorium, Paul Harding’s Tinkers and Donald Hall’s Essays After 80, writers are invited to explore theorizing, storytelling, and lyricizing their perceptions, questions and experiences around aging and dying. Open to all students but especially useful for students interested in medical anthropology, spirituality and writers seeking to challenge themselves.
- Teacher: Sara Martin