Instructor:
E. Michael Brady
University of Southern Maine
400-B Bailey Hall
Gorham, ME 04038
Office 207-780-5312
Home 207-839-6111
E-mail: mbrady@usm.maine.edu
Course Description
Course Goal
Course Objectives
Recommended Reading
Required Reading
Course Projects
Accomodations
Institute Outline
This course examines the phenomenon of death in modern society, with
a special emphasis on implications for older persons. Issues such
as the meaning of death, the dying process, survivorship, and suicide are
treated. Special attention is paid to the role of the professional
in death education.
This course is designed to increase content knowledge and personal awareness
of issues relating to aging, death and bereavement. Facts and theories
will be learned with the goal of deepening students' personal understanding
of death and strengthening their practice as educators and human
service professionals.
1. Participants will achieve a wider and deeper understanding of the 'death system,' from its historical, psychological and sociological perspectives.
2. Participants will be able to critically discuss questions and concerns about death that relate to everyday living.
3. Participants will learn how death and bereavement affect the lives of older persons.
4. Participants will be challenged to integrate theories and research into their professional practice.
5. Particpants will learn the importance of death education and will be challenged to locate and develop their own roles as professionals vis-a-vis death education.
6. Participants will plan and write a workshop curriculum for a professional audience of their choice in the area of aging, death, and bereavement.
7. Students will explore in depth some specific aspect of gerontology-thanatology.
They will communicate this research in a written form.
Tolstoy, Leo. (l960). The death of Ivan Ilych. New American Library.
Sarton, May. (l973). As we are now. W.W. Norton.
Lewis, C.S. (1961). A grief observed. Bantam.
The Maine Scholar (Special Issue on Death
and Dying), Vol 9 (Fall, 1997).
In addition to the three "core" books above,
students will choose and read one of the following three books:
Rinpoche, S. (1992). The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. San Francisco: Harper
Lynch, Thomas (1997). The Undertaking. New York: Penguin Books
Albom, Mitch (1997). Tuesdays With
Morrie. New York: Doubleday.
Moody, H.R. (1993). Ethics in an Aging Society. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Hosansky, A. (1993). Widow's Walk. New York: Donald Fine.
There are a number of periodicals in the USM library that are also worth consulting. Two specifically dedicated to the field of thanatology are Omega (Por) and Death Studies (Por). Gerontologically oriented journals include The Journal of Gerontology (Por), The Gerontologist (Por), Generations (Gor), Research on Aging (Gor) The Journal of Gerontological Social Work (Por), The Journal of Gerontological Nursing (Por), and Educational Gerontology (Gor).
Selected books and articles will be recommended throughout the course
of the institute. Students are also encouraged to share readings
that have been important to them in this literature.
There will be two written projects required of each institute participant who is seeking graduate credit:
1. Each participant will plan and write a workshop for an audience of her/his choice in one aspect of death, dying and bereavement. While it is highly preferable that either the subject matter or the target audience involve older adults, some students have no contact with older persons in their professional lives and may have compelling reasons to focus attention on another age cohort. Examples of workshop designs developed by participants in former institutes include a program on death awareness for nursing home personnel, a unit on aging and suicide for community mental health professionals, a death education intervention for local school teachers, and an orientation to grief and loss for a church group.
The plan for the workshop, at minimum, ought to consider the following factors:
* Who is the audience?
* Who is sponsoring the workshop (who owns it)?
* What specific aspect of death and dying is being
addressed and why (theoretical rationale)?
* A detailed outline of activities (list of objectives,
course plan, etc.)
* A listing of hand-out materials (please include
samples), films, and other learning aids.
* A bibliography of references
You will not be expected to actually conduct this workshop. A written plan is sufficient. However, if your situation allows it, carrying out the education/training would be an added bonus (and you can do this anytime in the future).
2. Each participant will prepare one of the following options:
a. Write a traditional, library-research-oriented term paper. Select a specific theme within the parameters of gerontology-thanatology of interest to you, read on this subject, and write a paper discussing the major findings of your research. Be sure to include a bibliography of your references.
b. Write a position paper on one of the important
ethical issues in the field of death and bereavement. The preferred
medium here is "essay." Begin with your thesis, and develop arguments
(from the literature, from your own professional experience) that defends
your position.
Include a bibliography.
c. Keep a personal journal. The major purpose of this option is to enable people to work on a deeply personal level to integrate materials from the course into their own lives and professional practice. However, several rules guide this option:
* Integrate readings (those we've explored in the institute, other things you've been reading along the way . . . ) with your own experiences and reflections in at least a portion of the entries.
* Maintain a consistent flow of entries (don't leave large gaps in your writing)
* Include at least 15 entries (averaging two or three entries per week).
d. Develop a creative or artistic project, incorporating theories, ideas, and feelings experienced in this course. Examples of creative projects may be writing a short story, developing a sequence of poems, writing a play, producing a slide presentation or film, etc.
Both the workshop curriculum and the written project are due Friday,
August 13, 1999. Please deliver your materials to my mailbox
in Bailey Hall or mail them to the address on the top of the first page
of this syllabus.
If you need course adaptations or accomodations because of a disability,
please make an appointment with me as soon as possible. I shall be as flexible
as possible to help you succeed in this course of study. Other kinds
of assistance are available at various units within the university.
For information about learning disabilities, please contact the Office
of Academic Support for Students with Disabilities, 237 Luther Bonney Hall
(780-4706). Tutoring may be obtained through The Learning Center,
253 Luther Bonney Hall (780-4228). Personal counseling may
be arranged through the Counseling Center which has two locations: 106
Payson Smith Hall in Portland (780-4050) and Upton Hall in Gorham (780-5642).
Monday, June 21 (AM)
Introduction to the course
Personal awareness exercises
Film: "The Fall of Freddy the Leaf"
(PM) Death in Contemporary America:
Nominal Group and Discussion
Tuesday, June 22 (AM)
The Demography of Death
Death and History
(PM) Stage Theories of Dying
Small Group Discussions of Tolstoy's Ivan Ilych
Wednesday, June 23 (AM) Introduction
to Death and Old Age
Film: "Dying"
(PM) The Death of a Spouse
Guest Speakers: Marilyn Paige and Harry Sky
Thursday, June 24 (AM)
Foundations of Suicide
Suicide and the Elderly
(PM) Guest Speaker on Hospice: Terry Cronin
Field Trip: Jones Rich and Hutchins Funeral Home (Portland)
Friday, June 25
(AM) Bereavement
Film: "Shadowlands"
(PM) Bereavement (continued)
Personal expressions/reflections on Aging, Death, and
Bereavement
Conclusions