Exploring Grief and Loss: Stories, Science, and Creative Expression

All living things die. This course will explore this universal truth using theoretical frameworks of human loss and grief from culturally and philosophically diverse perspectives. Students will learn about why and how grief is affected by type of loss, socioeconomic factors, cultural worldviews, ethics, individual differences, and family systems. Attention will be focused on lifespan development, trauma, and the brain to better understand their relationship to the meaning of death, loss, and the grief process at different ages and stages. Students will explore coping practices in the context of loss, emphasizing the diversity of human response and the importance of rituals, religion, and spirituality in healing through loss. Class sessions and assignments are designed to provide students with hands-on opportunities to explore personal values and beliefs about death, loss, grief, and healing and to explore the application of theory to practice through various art forms (e.g., drawing, photography, dance, media, music, writing).