Key concepts: Ceremony, ritualisation & grief Rather fittingly we will end the c

Key concepts: Ceremony, ritualisation & grief
Rather fittingly we will end the course with an exploration of ‘Departures’. This will include an anthropological examination of issues pertaining to life and death, and the transition between them. The variety of ways in which death has been handled in human societies has been a source of much scholarly fascination. The emphasis in this week’s lecture is on death as a social event rather than the cessation of bodily functions. Taking up cross-cultural examples we will consider the role of mourning, the purpose of grief, and how these experiences are often channelled into ritual in an effort to provide comfort.

FILM: Departures – Directed by Yōjirō Takinta (2009)
Departures is available on Youtube: https://www.google.com/search?q=japanese+film+departures&rlz=1C5GCEM_enUS1073US1077&oq=japanese+film+departures&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIKCAEQABixAxiABDIHCAIQABiABDIHCAMQABiABDIHCAQQABiABDIHCAUQLhiABDIHCAYQABiABDIGCAcQRRg80gEIMjY1MmowajSoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:e622c4ce,vid:4ruc3tQNrmo,st:0Links to an external site.
It is also available for streaming on Tubi:
https://tubitv.com/movies/475822/departuresLinks to an external site.
Required Tasks: Week 16 Journal Entry
Film response
In the Week 16 Module Discussion page please contribute a response to the film you have viewed this week, making connections to the lecture content and key concepts, along with reflexive observations on what you have viewed and its socio-cultural relevance.
Weekly Readings (required) Links provided to Pdf download of each article
Palgi, P. & H. Abramovitch. 1984. Death: A Cross-Cultural Perspective. Annual Review of Anthropology. 13: 385-414. (On Canvas) Palgi and Abramovitch Week 16.pdf
Kaufman, S. & L. Morgan. 2005. The Anthropology of the Beginnings and Ends of Life. Annual Review of Anthropology. 34:317-333. (On Canvas) Kaufman Week 16.pdf