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Aug 02, 2025
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PSY 1980 - CONVERSATIONS WITH DEAD PEOPLE
credits: 6.0
Sociologist and psychologist Morrie Schwartz said, weeks before his death of ALS, that dying is the end of a person, not the end of a relationship. It is common and even normative for survivors of a loss to report the ongoing subjective experience of a relationship with the deceased, an experience partially explained by known psychological mechanisms of attachment. Conversely, individuals approaching the end of life in the U.S. often report feeling deprived of identity, relationships, and personhood, well before they are literally deceased. Using theoretical work from social psychology and related fields, this class will examine these discrepancies and the major social forces (taboo, ageism, mortality salience) as well as the major psychological forces (attachment, dehumanization, terror management) that underpin them. Students will complete writing activities and where they will reflect on personal experiences with death and dying. Objectives: A) Critique ethical controversies around end-of-life care in an informed and respectful manner that takes into account multiple perspectives (religious, medical, legal, etc.); B) Employ improved comfort with the taboo subject of death, through understanding why death is taboo in the contemporary U.S.; C) Place contemporary American rituals around death and memorials within the context of place (e.g. how Western New York compares to other areas of the world) and time (e.g. how death rituals have changed in light of secularization and environmentalism); D) Apply theories such as Attachment Theory, Object Relations Theory, Terror Management, Phenomenological Humanism, and Socioemotional Selectivity Theory to a personal view of death; E) Write about the role of demographic differences (age, income, gender, ethnicity, religion) on the individual’s experience with death; F) Develop practical skills for helping to ease discussions of dying and mourning, through creating practice materials for consolation and mourning. Method of Instruction: Will involve a mixture of standard instruction, reading discussions, media presentations, guest speakers, and local immersive experiences. Students will complete writing activities and where they will reflect on personal experiences with death and dying. Method of Evaluation: Reading responses: 20%, Participation in class activities: 40%, and Writing assignments: 40%. Meets *WEP Distribution Requirement.
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