Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

THIS UNUSUAL ONLINE COURSE (Summer Term 2025, 8 weeks, 4 credits) is a study of the cross-cultural variations regarding human responses to death and dying. In it, the cultural universal of death is addressed in its cross-cultural diversity from an anthropological perspective. The subject of death as viewed and experienced by cultures of the world is explored, including established and newer practices in the United States. The course assesses these materials and brings students into contact with this information and its personal relevance.

All work is online and includes class discussions and exercises, two brief assessments (aka midterm and final), an interesting and succinct personal project, selected documentaries and films and optional Zoom sessions. Grading is done equitably with attention to the work and effort of each student. The course, originally F2F, has proven valuable over almost two decades, and in fact directly helpful for some. An introductory course in anthropology or sociology is helpful, but  the course is structured for all interested persons. Audit is available.

Since many texts available for this subject reflect western perspectives, structures and proprieties or are immersed in specific non-western cultural practices, we focus on the pan-cultural (global) anthropological context for fuller comparative, personal and experiential perspectives, including multi-cultural observations and experiences of the instructor (an experienced anthropologist). There are THREE "texts" for this course: one is free (an OL OER text), Death and Bereavement Across Cultures, available OL from the PCC library; the second is From Here To Eternity by Caitlin Doughty, a best-seller paperback on contemporary global death practices; the third is The Last Interview and Other Conversations by Joan Didion, paperback. All are succinct, informative and readable. The PCC Sylvania bookstore has copies of Doughty and Didion, and you can certainly search online for it: try Powell's, Amazon and my favorite, abebooks.com. 

The course is busy and focused and has proven very popular. If you are worried about OL classes: (1) the mechanics of actually doing the course are built into it, and are very accessible and supportive; and (2) it is entirely possible to feel part of a group and communicate personally online: in fact, THAT is what we have done and do in this course. 

I hope to meet you virtually in this exploration!

Dr. K. J. Pataki

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