RLST 110 PO -Death, Dying, and the Afterlife

Institution: Pomona

Description: This course will explore various ways East Asian religious traditions deal with death and the dead. We will examine how the Daoist, Buddhist, and folk traditions of East Asia historically and currently address the question of “What happens when we die?” We will look at different ritual practices surrounding death, dying and the dead in their ongoing relationships with the living. We will also explore various descriptions of the terrain of the afterlife or postmortem world by critically engaging a variety of textual and visual records of China, Korea and Japan. Some of the topics that will be discussed in the course include the nature of the self, the function of funerary rites, the geography of the afterlife, communication with the dead and religious notions of salvation/liberation. By exploring a variety of narratives and practices regarding death and the afterlife, students will develop a rich and detailed picture of the relationship between the living and the dead in the East Asian religious landscape.

For up-to-date information on current course offerings and details, please refer to the Pitzer class schedule on MyCampus2 Portal.