Socialising (with) the Dead (THEM309)

15 credits

Do you want to be buried, burned, or embalmed? Or perhaps you’d rather be dismembered, or devoured, or dissected into specimen jars? Whether you have a preference or not, someone will do something with your corpse.

 

The ways in which humans deal with their dead not only reflect social and cultural preferences, but index wider constructs of ‘death’ as a social state of being – regardless of whether or not the deceased are imagined to transition into a type of post-mortem existence or otherworldly realm. Mortuary practices and their associated activities not only re-socialize the body, but can variously trigger, extend or transform the sociality of the dead within the lives of the living. Juxtaposing selected examples of mortuary practice from ancient southwest Asian cultures (including those refracted in the Bible) and the contemporary world, we will explore how and why humans socialize (with) the dead, and ask what our own cultural and personal preferences about corpse management might reveal about us.

This module will employ a range of approaches drawn particularly from anthropology, archaeology, material-culture studies, and the study of ritual and religion. Although it might be of particular interest to students of religion, theology, sociology, or ancient history, previous work in these areas is not required.