The Good Death: A History

Can a death be "good" or "bad?" How so? Who gets to decide? Students in this course trace how the idea of “the good death” changed through U.S. history. Together, we consider several questions that have been used to evaluate the “goodness” of a death, asking: Is there a right time to die? Can a good death be planned? Is there a right attitude or spiritual stance to have toward death? Where does a good death take place? What kind of care is best for dying people? What should be done with dead bodies? How does grief factor into the good death?  Over the semester, students investigate both aspirational visions of the good death as well as the realities of death in U.S. history. We analyze cultural, social, and medical factors that influenced the professionalization and medicalization of death into the 21st century. In addition, students are asked to probe their own assumptions about the good death and its corollary, the good life. The course culminates in an essay that features self-reflection as well as rigorous historical analysis.