Re-Visioning the Dead

John Hill, Murray Stein
Independent study
Online

Overview

It has often been said that sex was repressed in the 19th century and death in the 20th. Can we reverse the wheel of history and cherish in our times the dreams, visions, beliefs, and rituals of our ancestors that paid homage to the afterlife? They spared no means in erecting visible signs of a continued presence of the dead among the living. The vast burial mounds of Neolithic culture, the great pyramids of Egypt, the wooden stretchers of Native Americans were visible signs and tangible embodiments of a continuous universe, inspiring great works of art that survived the ravages of time. It is much harder to find signs of the dead in today’s high-rise edifices of corporate society, five star hotels or temples of consumption. We need to hold on to our dreams and visions of an afterlife, even if our cultural environment remains skeptical.

  1. Demonstrate an appraisal of cultures that honor the afterlife.
  2. Explain how rituals enhance the significance of an afterlife.
  3. Discuss how to overcome age-old fears concerning life after death.
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