You will mostly be graded on the originality, depth and accuracy of your ideas. I am interested in seeing two things:

Your ability to express a unique response to and perspective on a subject (push yourself to articulate thoughts and/or feelings that you have never before been able to put into words)

How accurately you can represent something, be it a reading, a song, a place or an experience.

Assignment Options:

Option 1 Reading response

Pick a passage from two of the class readings that elicited in you a strong emotional or intellectual response. W r i t e a response to each passage. What is each passage about, and why do you feel strongly about them? The passages you choose should not be longer than a paragraph. Please include the passages at the top of your response. (The length of each passage will not count towards your word count!)

Option 2 Site visit

If possible, go and visit a place that explicitly deals with death and dying, such as a cemetery, a funeral home, a hospice or another such place. (If you are unsure, ask me.) Describe the place and how it "deals" with or "represents" death and how you responded to this place. What stands out to you about this place? What might you change about this place (i.e. what is missing from this place)? What kinds of feelings or thoughts does the place elicit from you?

Option 3 Reflection on an artwork

w r i t e a response to an artwork—be it a poem, song, video, film, video game, short story, etc...—that explicitly deals with death. First describe the work. What is it about and how does it represent death? What is your personal response to this? What (and why) do you like or dislike how it represents death? Please try to include the work with your submission or, if this is not possible, include a clear way for me to access the work (such as a link).

Option 4 Talk to someone about death and recount your conversation

Have a conversation with someone whom you think may have an interesting view on death because they have encountered it more than most people either through their personal experiences or their profession. a short paper that describes and reflects on this conversation. Do not submit a transcription of the interview. Also, please do not include the person's name.

Some questions you could ask them is: given their unique experience of death, how do they relate to death and/or the afterlife? How might it be different than the average person? How do they think we should mourn the dead? How should we approach our own death? Remember, this is a conversation and not an interview. Don't just rely on these questions, but try to come up with your questions as the conversation develops.

Option 5 Creative writing project

Imagine that you, or someone you know, died yesterday. W r i t e an imaginary obituary and a eulogy for you or that person.

Option 6 Business Plan

Come up with a business plan to sell something dealing with death and dying, or the afterlife. Describe in detail what exactly you are going to sell and how you would sell it. Include a rough estimate of how much you think it might cost to develop this product, but also how much you think you could charge for it. Also justify why your product will be successful: why will there be demand for your product, and why is now a good time to enter this product into the market (such as the lack of competitors, aging demographics, etc...)? Your product must be realistic; in other words, you can't sell an "immortality" pill because that does not exist!

Option 7 Art project

You must meet with me and get my approval if you would like to d o i t. C r e a t e a piece of art inspired by this class—a poem, painting, song, photoessay, series of drawings, short play or story—and explain, in at least 3** words, what inspired your piece and what your piece is trying to get at.

pur-new-sol

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