Objective:

To explore American cultural perspectives on communicating issues about death and dying

Methods and Prompt:

After watching (this short version of) Dr. Randy Pausch's "The Last Lecture," (Links to an external site.)

hit "Reply" below and answer the following questions to create your original post.

How does this talk push against the narratives of dealing with death in the United States (or in your country if you are not from the U.S.) (Also, if you are not from the U.S. please provide a short description of how people deal differently with death in your culture than what you might have seen or heard here.) How does your family deal with death? Are their traditions? Communication patterns?

Randy remembers his childhood dreams with clarity. Do you remember your childhood dreams—are they as vivid as his? And how important is it to hold onto your childhood dreams—might not they change over time?

Pausch said he gave his lecture (not knowing it would attain such worldwide acclaim) so his children would have some memory or knowledge of their father. If you were faced with 6 months to live, how would you go about creating lasting memories? Is that an important concern—or is it self-serving or self-indulgent?

Why is it that The Last Lecturehas struck such a chord with people? Co-writer Zaslow says that "it's because we're all dying," and that Randy's fate is ours. Do you agree? Are there any other reasons?

What points in the talk particular resonated with you? Which struck you—personally—as most profound or meaningful for your own life?

pur-new-sol

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