| Title: | Death and Afterlife |
|---|---|
| Course Section Number: | CLA-111-01 |
| Department: | Classics |
| Description: | We tend to focus our energies on building a happy and secure future for ourselves; yet in a real sense we live surrounded by death, threatened by the impermanence of our relationships and by the fragility of life on our planet. The fear of death and the dread of what comes afterward is part of the human experience, both in the ancient and modern world. Yet, in our time, we keep death at a firm distance, isolating it into the clinical space. It is the domain of professionals. On the other hand, there is a substantial ancient literary tradition of 'descending' to visit the underworld and 'ascending' to visit the heavenly; to observe, search, behold, and, sometimes, to escape. Death was part of life. However, these places are far from static conceptions. The theologies of the afterlife develop in notable ways. In this course, we will go on our own 'Tour of Heaven and Hell', so to speak, and explore the wide array of underworld and afterlife conceptions in ancient Greek, Roman, Jewish, and Christian sources. Why? It is illuminating and historically rich to observe the development and function of the afterlife in relation to social and political and religious concerns. We will also embark on a cemetery restoration project and delve into the material aspects of death. |
| Credits: | 1.00 |
| Start Date: | January 19, 2026 |
| End Date: | May 9, 2026 |
| Meeting Information: |
01/19/2026-05/08/2026 Lecture Monday, Wednesday, Friday 10:00AM - 10:50AM, Room to be Announced
|
| Faculty: | Campbell, Warren |
Course Status & Cross-Listings
| Cross-list Group Capacity: | 25 |
|---|---|
| Cross-list Group Student Count: | 0 |
| Calculated Course Status: | OPEN |
| Section Name/Title | Status | Dept. | Capacity |
Enrolled/ Available/ Waitlist |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
CLA-111-01
(cross-listing)
Death and Afterlife |
OPEN | Classics | 25 | 0 / 25 / 0 |
|
REL-290-01
(primary)
Death and Afterlife |
OPEN | Religion | 25 | 0 / 25 / 0 |