LECTURE 2 - Death, Dying and Bereavement: A Very Short History. This talk provides a brief outline of the major demographic, epidemiological, and sociological changes that have shaped our experiences of death, dying and bereavement across some 1.5 million years of human history. It shows how personal experiences of dying, loss, and care are practically shaped by forces of economy and society. Human settings create and modify mortality for better or worse.
LECTURE 3 - Academic Studies of Dying: Think you know how people die? Think again. What we understand about the human experience of dying is most often an artifact of who is studying the dying experience. Medical studies of dying can blindside other dimensions of this experience just as easily ass military or gerontological studies. What happens to our understanding when we cross-compare these sources?
LECTURE 4 -Mystical Experiences Near-Death: Mystical experiences associated with death such as deathbed visions, near-death experiences or visions of the bereaved are commonly under-recognized by healthcare staff. Understandings are often subject to stigma or dismissed with observations about religion or hallucination theory. These stereotyped understandings are unhelpful for everyone. This talk reviews the academic state of the art for this field.
