This extra credit post will not be assigned points directly in the system. You will see that it is “ungraded.” I will reply to your post to let you know if you earned points (up to 4 possible) to distribute across quizzes or forum posts.
To earn extra credit point, please extend our topic (Weeks 13 and 14), which is the anthropology of death, by listening to a podcast (below) and responding to any four of the questions below. This podcast features the ideas of Shannon Lee Dawdy, who asked people two questions 1) What do you want to have done with your body after you die and 2) what do you think happens after you die? Her discussion of her study includes historical information as well.
Choose 4 questions to respond to
1. What were the religious beliefs behind the 3-day at-home wake in the parlor (living room) and behind post-mortem photography (1800s America)?
2. What were the Civil War roots of the practice of embalming?
3. What is the connection between the events of 9/11 (in particular at the Twin Towers site) and the shift toward cremation in the 21st century?
4. How does the DNA example reveal the “sacred” principle of individualism” which is shifting Americans away from traditional uniform death and burial practices?
5. Dawdry sees a rise of “spirituality” (in contrast to religious beliefs). Does she argue that this shift toward spirituality is unique or consistent with past American practices? (explain)
6. Dawdy explores the rise of 1) cremation objects such as jewelry and 2) Green burial practices. What is the explanation for the shift to these practices?
7. What are most younger people saying in response to the questions that Shannon Dawdry poses in her survey work (What do you want to have done with your body after you die and 2) what do you think happens after you die?)
