Collins Living-Learning Center

What should we do with our bodies after we die? How does death impact our environment and culture? Humans have always grappled with death, expressed through burial rituals and mourning, often tied to their environment. In the 21st century, amid genocides and mass graves, this connection is even more present. This course delves into how the environment shapes perceptions of death and burial. We will dive into Ecological Humanities, which merges humanities, social sciences, life sciences, soil science, forensic science, politics, and death practices. Our class challenges conventional notions of life and death by embracing diverse viewpoints out of the Eurocentric canon. By understanding various knowledge systems, the course aims to offer multifaceted perspectives and language on death studies, urging students to confront and analyze perceptions and 'normalized' dichotomies related to life and death within different cultural and environmental contexts. 

Instructor: Eliza Frenkel

SustainCollins course – open to all Collins students 

Selected by Board of Educational Programming (BOEP)

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