The Culture of Death and Dying in Historical and Anthropological Perspective

2025/2026

Academic Year

ENG

Instruction in English

Delivered at:

Department of History

Course type:

Elective course

When:

2 year, 2 module

Instructor

Masagutova, Maria

Course Syllabus

Abstract

This introductory course into the area of Death Studies is aimed to demonstrate the variety in approaches and attitude towards the biologically unchangeable and ever-present phenomenon of death, focusing on its specificity in Modern and contemporary history. The factors that contribute to a construction of a certain perception of death in different societies are reflection of these societies’ values and challenges. Brought into the focus of the scholarly interest by Philippe Aries, death remains a developing field of studies in History and Anthropology. Alongside the classical works the course will address different aspects of death and dying outlining the contemporary research in the area. Structurally the course will be divided into the topics reflecting particular issues connected with death and dying, moving from such as religious and ritualistic sides of dying and issues of medicalisation, towards the contemporary questions of new technologies of burial and the specificity of commemoration in the digital era. Special attention will be paid to the Russian context of death and dying, enabling to build the connections between the Russian experience and a broader historical context.