Journal Assignment, Fall 2017, Rel. 213/180
1. Write at least twelve entries. These will consist of
(a) the first question in the list below (required)
(b and c) two responses – to the visits to (1) Harrison Funeral Home and (2) Stonewall Jackson Cemetery
(d) a page on the perfect or ideal form of final judgment (instructions coming). Due Nov. 6
(e) a reflection on the following question after Week 11 of the course: Which reading or film in this course has been most meaningful to you and why, and which one have you disliked (reacted negatively to) the most and why?
(f) one long concluding entry that reflects on what you have discovered or thought about in your earlier journal entries (re-read your entries before writing this), and what this course has meant to you personally (not an evaluation of the course but what the readings and experiences have meant to you).
(g) and your choice of any six others in the list below.
2. Except Exercises 1 and the Conclusion, which will each need several pages, write at least one printed page (double-spaced) for each entry
3. Journal entries, as compared with the essay test or a paper, are personal, less tightly organized, informal in style, more open to where you want to follow your own thoughts. You should write about what personally interests you, and you should talk about yourself. This assignment is an opportunity to work with a topic that touches all of us directly and each of us in a specific and personal way.
4. Please submit segments of your “journal-in-progress” by email on the dates specified in the syllabus. [These comprise only a part of the 12 entries; work on the others when you can]
and turn in your completed journal on Wednesday, December 6, by 5pm, also by email.
5. In grading your journal, I shall look for how well it follows the guidelines stated here, the thoughtfulness and care shown in your reflections and exercises, and the clarity of its ideas.
6. Should you die before this assignment is due, just turn in whatever you have finished.
The Exercises (explorations). Write on the first one and any six others:
- Required: (a) What are some of your experiences with death (of a person, a pet, etc.) when you were younger? What feelings do you recall about these experiences? (b) How did members of your family deal with their feelings about death and dying? What particular memories do you have about how your family expressed their feelings? (c) What did you learn about death from your peers and close friends? (d) What are your memories about times when you were responsible for killing some living thing? (or eating meat?) What feelings did you have about these experiences? (e) What are your memories of times when you thought you were going to die or be killed? What feelings did you have about these events?
- In what way, and at what age, might you be likely to die? Tell the event as a descriptive story about yourself, in some detail.
- Identify the essential spiritual tasks you would want to accomplish if you were suddenly to learn that you had only three months to live. Address any or all of the following questions, and add whatever else is important to you: (a) To whom would you want to offer forgiveness? (b) From whom would you want to ask forgiveness? (c) What special possessions would you give away, and to whom? (d) If relevant: How would you like to make your peace with God? (e) Whom would you want at your bedside in your final days? (f) What would you want to say to the people you love?
- [make this a required entry?] Write two obituaries (will require more than a page). (Obit 1) Write your own obituary using the format set forth in “Obituary Writing Guidelines” on Sakai, in Resources/Assignments. Write your obituary for a newspaper announcement. Choose an imminent day of death for yourself (in the next four years). While you’re writing it, notice your feelings. See what happens. When you finish writing the obituary, describe the feelings you had (if any) while writing it.
(Obit 2) Then write one of the following additional obituaries: Either (a) Write your own obituary again, using the same basic format but in a humorous way. When you finish, describe the feelings you had (if any) while writing it. OR (b) Write an obituary for someone living whom you know personally. I suggest someone with whom you have a conflict, perhaps someone you dislike or who dislikes you. While you’re writing it, notice your feelings. See what happens. When you finish writing the obituary, describe the feelings you had (if any) while writing it.
- Plan your funeral. What should be done with your body? Where will the funeral be held? What words will be said? What songs played? Who would attend? What do you hope will be the mood and the message?
- Write a “living will” and explain your decision. First, read these websites to understand the issues: http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/in-depth/living-wills/art-20046303?pg=1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_will http://www.doyourownwill.com/lwindex.asp (to download a state-specific form)
The question is: If you suffer an incurable, irreversible illness or other condition, and your doctor determines that your condition is terminal, do you want to have life-sustaining measures (such as mechanical breathing, tube feeding, resuscitation) performed or withheld, and if performed, for how long and under what conditions? –Write your living will, and then explain your decision, which will be based on your concept of “life” and the meaning of “death.”
- Loss and response: Tell your life-story as a narrative about loss (including losses other than death, such as loss of dreams, loss of job, of friends and lovers, of health, of home, etc.), and your responses to these losses, and how these losses affected the way you now think and live.
- Discuss death and dying at length with a parent, and write about your conversation. Raise relevant questions that have been discussed in class, our readings, or the journal exercises.
- Interview a person who is or has been involved with death and dying in a professional role – a hospice worker, rabbi, priest, minister, nurse, doctor, ambulance worker, funeral worker, etc. Since the interview should raise relevant questions discussed in class or our readings, you should conduct this interview during the second half of the term.
- Quote excerpts from and analyze two or three popular songs with a strong theme of death and dying. Explain why you chose these songs and what they mean to you personally. Also discuss the music; e.g., how does it relate to the lyrics? Examples: “Forever” by Vertical Horizon, “Cancer” by My Chemical Romance, “Who Wants to Live Forever” by Queen, “Dead Man’s Will” by Iron and Wine, Martha Wainwright’s elegy, “Proserpina,” “Deathbed” by Resilient K, “Brompton Cocktail” by Avenged Sevenfold, “I Will Follow You Into the Dark” by Death Cab for Cutie, “God’s Gonna Cut You Down” by Johnny Cash, “If I Die Young” by The Band Perry.
- After we visit Stonewall Jackson cemetery and after reviewing the powerpoint on cemeteries and grave markers, design your own grave marker, including (if you so choose) shape, epitaph, artwork, and symbolism. Explain your reasoning for your design and words. In your opinion, what is the purpose of a grave marker?
- If you have attended a funeral recently, write about the following topics: the social purposes of the funeral, with examples of each purpose you identify; the particular religious, social, and cultural rituals for assisting grieving; how the funeral seemed (or might seem) to assist the bereaved with the grieving process, and perhaps how it seemed to interfere; how the people attending and officiating behaved toward death and/or grieving (what attitudes might this behavior suggest?); and your own reactions to and feelings at the funeral, and why you think you felt this way.