| Title: | Coffins |
|---|---|
| Course Section Number: | REL-195-02 |
| Department: | Religion |
| Description: | Second-half semester course. "'All men are mortal. Socrates is a man, therefore Socrates is mortal.' To Ivan Ilyich, such logic seemed true when applied to Socrates, but not to him!" That line, from Tolstoy's great novella Death of Ivan Ilyich, captures a common experience: denying one's own mortality even when one knows that death is inevitable. To respond, the world's religions have, in one way or another, embraced a "memento mori," or a remembrance of death. This class will study attitudes, practices, and rituals that religions have developed in the face of death, focusing on burial. We will study coffins, urns, cremation, funerary rites, mummies, and more. Further, each student will build a coffin in Professor Nelson's furniture shop. The student will be able to keep the coffin, which in some cases can be temporarily transformed into a small table or bookshelf. You will therefore leave this class with your own memento mori... Instructor consent needed. |
| Credits: | 0.50 |
| Start Date: | March 16, 2026 |
| End Date: | May 9, 2026 |
| Meeting Information: |
03/17/2026-05/07/2026 Lecture Tuesday, Thursday 09:45AM - 11:00AM, Center Hall, Room 304
|
| Faculty: | Nelson, Derek |
Course Status
| Section Name/Title | Status | Dept. | Capacity |
Enrolled/ Available/ Waitlist |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
REL-195-02
Coffins |
OPEN | Religion | 8 | 0 / 8 / 0 |