Department of Social & Policy Sciences, Unit Catalogue 2008/09 |
SP20188 Global funeral ritual and ceremony |
| Credits: 5 |
| Level: Intermediate |
| Semester: 1 |
| Semester: 2 |
| Assessment: ES 100% |
| Requisites: |
| Before taking this unit you must take SP10186 |
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This unit is only available to students on the Foundation Degree in Funeral Services. Aims: This is an optional unit that will build on the compulsory unit, Funeral Ritual and Ceremony in that it expands the focus to a global level. This unit aims to: * Provide students with knowledge and understanding of the main variations in funeral, memorial and final disposal practices worldwide. * Provide students with anthropological and sociological explanations for these variations. * Enable students to reflect on changes in funeral rites and ceremonies globally. Learning Outcomes: By the end of the unit students will have be able to: * Understand variations in funeral, memorialisation and disposal practices globally * Reflect on the usefulness of theory to funeral practice and its implications for changing ritual and ceremony in the UK. * Reflect on the nature of global funeral rites and identify some of the major religious and spiritual belief systems that account for their variation. Skills: * To think creatively and analytically; * To evaluate arguments and research; * To reflect on research evidence as well as a variety of other information; * To apply theory to practice; * To synthesise information from a number of sources in order to gain a coherent understanding; * To relate Christianity and other religions and forms of spirituality to practice. Content: * Funeral rituals and ceremonies in cultural context; * Anthropological theories of funeral rites and disposal practices; * Diversity in disposal rituals and ceremonies; * Diversity in memorial rituals and ceremonies; * Significance of religious and spiritual beliefs in funeral practice and ceremonies; * Case studies: India, Greece, Japan, Australian Aboriginal practices. |