Research Seminar in Christianity and Culture: Death, Rituals and Technology CHC472H1

This research seminar invites students to explore connections and tensions between technological innovation and the Christian understanding of death and death-related rituals. Readings and discussions will focus on such themes as extreme unction, burial practices, memorials, and mourning as they relate to technological change, but also engage various means by which humans seek (and have sought historically) to assert their power over death, be it by prolonging life or by denying it to others. Students will be expected to develop a research paper based on a relevant topic of their choosing.