GE1311

Death: A discovery approach

Semester B 2015-2016

Introduction
There is one thing I am sure about: we are all going to die. There is nothing
theoretical or philosophical about it. The end, the last breath (definitely), the pain
(possibly), the violence (unlikely): I can say, with an absolute certainty, that you are
going to experience it. But given the certainty of death, it is sometimes surprising how
much of a taboo it is in our society. Have you prepared for your own death? Why not?
In his most famous book "On the shortness of life", Roman philosopher Lucius
Annaeus Seneca writes that one's life philosophy is dictated by his view on death. Our
general unpreparedness for something that certain and so important is one of the
most problematic phenomenon in modern education.
This course aims to introduce you to ways in which different academic disciplines
view and study death, mortality and aging. In this course, you will approach Death
from different perspectives: political, scientific, and cultural. The overarching
objective of this course is to inspire you, using death as an example, to examine and
evaluate other fundamental questions using the approaches introduced by this course.
This course is a useful way to start a young persons university life, as it illustrates
how academic methodologies can be used to provide the conceptual framework for
dealing with some of the most fundamental events in your life.
There are so many things we want to teach you in this course, so many inspiring
stories to tell, so many fascinating cultural phenomena to study, so many interesting
lives to examine. This is a course that is different from any other courses you have
taken before. If you took a course on electrical engineering and failed, you are not
likely to be an electrical engineer in future. So are courses on any other subjects.
These courses ensure you have acquired certain blocks of knowledge that will help
you attain some qualifications in life. But even if you failed this course, you are still
going to die. Therefore, you must let go of your concept of what constitutes a
university course before coming to this class. In this course, most of the learning
happens outside the classroom. It will happen in your life. Your achievement in this
course is measured by your effort of incorporating this course in your daily life and
how much this effort has change the way you view your and others lives. In a way,
we want this course NOT to be a course it is more like an experience.

Aims
This course aims to offer an interdisciplinary approach to view Death. Four
perspectives will be used in this course, with the following aims:
(1) To view death from the perspective of global public health data. It is surprising
how much data on the global distribution of health are publicly available and how
powerful these data are in formulating our view about the world. The country (and the
continent) we are born in influences how we will die and how long we will live.
Students will learn how to explain this by considering the various factors - genetic,
political and economical in shaping this phenomenon.
(2) To introduce the modern scientific research on the biology and chemistry of death.
Cellular events during the last few minutes of life, and near death experience, and
physiochemical changes during the decay of dead bodies will be examined. Latest
research on the roles of genetics and nutrition on longevity will also be introduced.
(3) To examine the cultural and social aspects of death. How does death drive the
social and cultural experience of life? How do different cultures reconcile the reality
of death with such concepts as reincarnation and the afterlife? What is the cultural
explanation of the recent obsession with violent death in the popular culture, as
exemplified by Hollywood franchises such as The Final Destination and Saw?

The exact content of the course changes every year, depending on the guests we can
invite into our classroom and on the mood and interest of the class which change year
by year. One year the students requested less work and more dialogue time, in
another year some students were very eager to invite a guest to the class that we
decided to cancel one of the lecture in order to accommodate this additional guest
lecturer. It is therefore important to tell me what you want to learn in this class. We
will change the course to suit you.
 Lectures

All lectures of this course will be held on Monday from 9:00-11:50am in LT-11,
AC1. Attendance of lectures is optional, but content of lectures will be covered in the
final examination

Week 1 To learn about death is to learn about life (11/1/2016, Yun)

http://prezi.com/nrg8m0gr0bvk/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Course synopsis
Course etiquette
Requirements and assignments
TED talk: What makes a good life lesson from the longest study on happiness?
https://www.ted.com/talks/robert_waldinger_what_makes_a_good_life_lessons_from
_the_longest_study_on_happiness
Additional class activity: Watch the HBO production of Wit by Margaret Edson
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0PPvYlGqL8). There is a version with Chinese
subtitles (but poor resolution): http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/jKHU099T0u4.
The play Wit will form a theme of the first half of this course. Please make sure you
have watched it at least once. The script is available in the CityU library
(PS3555.D4845 W58 2000).
Week 2 Life after death (18/1/2016, Yun)
http://prezi.com/zcauvr4qokr7/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0sh
are

Synopsis
Our views on what happens after death can often be revealed by how we treat the
remains of our loved ones. The funeral practices of different religions not only mirror
the philosophy of these religions but also reveal the differences in these cultures.
In this lecture, we examine what happens to a person right after his/her death. On one
hand, nature decomposes the death body, nurturing an ecosystem that contains
bacteria and insects. The body disappears after a short process of biodecomposition.
On the other hand, almost all known cultures contain activities that aim to slow down
or prevent this process.
What is the purpose of life in view of the transience of our existence? Humans seldom
plan their future beyond 100 years the lifespans of themselves and their immediate
offsprings. Can we imagine our planet long after the end of our lives? We will
examine the Longnow Foundation, an organisation whose purpose to just that.

TED talk: The four stories we tell ourselves about death

https://www.ted.com/talks/stephen_cave_the_4_stories_we_tell_ourselves_about_dea
th

Reading materials:
Death, Mourning, and Burial: A Cross-Cultural Reader (The Human Lifecycle: Cross-
Cultural Readings). Antonius C. G. M. Robben (Editor)
http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/jhamlin/4960/Idenity_Death.pdf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoqSGbn9ToI
Christopher Jay Johnson. How Different Religions View Death & Afterlife.
Publisher: Charles Press Publishers; 2nd edition (May 1, 1998)
The clock of the long now: time and responsibility by Stewart Brand (CityU library:
C0204347)
Week 3: When science trumps death (25/1/2016, Yun)
http://prezi.com/w5ypwd-
rue20/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

Synopsis
In this lecture, we will discuss the history of epidemiology and the birth of modern
statistics. Students will learn that numbers are not that scary and can often be an
invaluable source of powerful information. We will examine the work of two
Victorians: Florence Nightingale and John Snow, who discovered the power of data
and statistics. We will end with Google flu trend a 21st century re-imagination of
John Snows map of cholera.
We will then move to the future. The advent of modern genetics has allowed us
predict the likeliness of serious diseases and to prevent them. The latest genome
editing technology can even fix disease-causing mutations before the baby is born,
and thereby cure the diseases before the patient exists. Are we all happy with this?
Will these god-like technology create a new set of problems we are not prepared to
answer?

TED talk: Lets talk about dying

https://www.ted.com/talks/peter_saul_let_s_talk_about_dying

Reading materials
Eileen Magnello, Florence Nightingale: The compassionate statistician
(http://plus.maths.org/content/florence-nightingale-compassionate-statistician)
Steven Shapin, Sick City: maps and mortality in the time of cholera
(http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/11/06/061106crbo_books)
http://www.google.org/flutrends/intl/en_us/about/how.html
Brownstein JS, Freifeld CC, Reis BY, Mandl KD (2008) Surveillance Sans
Frontires: Internet-Based Emerging Infectious Disease Intelligence and the
HealthMap Project.
(http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050151)
Week 4: Prepare for the guest lecture next week (1/2/2016, Yun)
There will be no lecture this week. Instead the class will start by watching a TED talk
(https://www.ted.com/talks/amanda_bennett_a_heroic_narrative_for_letting_go) that
offers a different perspective from the TED talk in Week 3. We will discuss your
feedbacks on our course so far.
You will be given one hour to brainstorm as many questions for the guest lecture as
possible. We will spend the third hour on discussing some of the questions.
Wit is a play that has reputedly challenged the current (American) healthcare,
especially in its treatment of terminally ill patients. Modern medicine, bloated with
the pride of technical and scientific successes, often views its profession as a battle
between doctors and diseases, and treats patients just as specimens that carry the
disease. What are the alternatives? Palliative medicine is probably the answer.

Reading materials:
1. The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee.
In the opinion that best book ever written on the development of chemotherapy and
the history on the war against cancer. This book has recently been adapted into a TV
documentary. See it here:
Episode 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAbCa4k0Zfc)
Episode 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpjJIQK1QXA)
Episode 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYbxn1HtqFU): this episode is the
most relevant to our course.
Dialogue with the author (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JD-REUIa9tY).
2. Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande. A
moving book by one of the most famous surgeons in the US on end of life care. Here
are two talks given by the author:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3QkaS249Bc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6yDl0zDK0A
Week 5 Guest lecture (15/2/2016, Yun)
Representatives from the local theatrical company Dramen will visit our classroom
and conduct a dialogue with you about their recent production of Margaret Edsons
Wit.

Week 6: Faces of death (22/2/2016, Yun)

http://prezi.com/pnggisz8gnij/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0sh
are

Synopsis
This lecture will start by showing the ways death is depicted in popular culture. Death
is often used as a plot device on films and TV and violent deaths are sometimes even
used as a source of entertainment. This approach is very different from the portrait of
death in reality. We will view examples of Victorian post-mortem photography,
followed by the depiction of death in the news, using the brutal portraits of the death
of Colonel Gaddifi and Iranian student Neda Agha-Soltan. Students will also be asked
to talk about the death they have personally witnessed. From these different portraits
of death, we discuss the complex cultural and emotional significances of death in our
lives.
TED talk: Why public beheadings get millions of views?
https://www.ted.com/talks/frances_larson_why_public_beheadings_get_millions_of_
views

Reading materials:
http://www.obit-mag.com/articles/shooting-the-dead-burns-archive
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/gallery/2008/mar/31/lifebeforedeath?picture=3333
25401
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16283257
Week 7 Science of death (29/2/2016, Dr Ball Lai)
Synopsis:
In this lecture, Dr Ball Lai, a scientist working in the biological mechanism of
toxicology, will ask this fundamental question: what exactly is happening when our
bodies age? He will first introduce the anatomy and physiology of the human body.
He will then discuss the biological definitions of death. Then he will review the latest
research on the mechanism of aging, and on factors that determine the lifespan of an
organism.

Week 8 Cell death (7/3/2016, Dr Ball Lai)

Synopsis
In this lecture, Ball will discuss the cellular and molecular basis of death. He will
introduce what a human cell is, and what happens to it when we age. When we
understand more and more about the genes and molecules involved in aging, can we
delay this process, and ultimately control it?

Week 9 Facing death (14/3/2016, Alice)

Synopsis
Psychological preparation for the imminent death of the loved ones.

Week 10 Euthanasia (21/3/2016, Alice)

http://prezi.com/oxplp14i02l/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0sha
re
Synopsis
Review of recent data on euthanasia. Ethical issues of suicide and euthanasia.

Week 11 Holiday
Week 12 Geopolitics of Death (11/4/2016, Yun)
http://prezi.com/ru5ju4f9fgle/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0sha
re

Synopsis
The availability of global public health data allows us to compare the average
mortality rates in different countries. What message these data are telling us? We will
start by a brief introduction to basic statistics. We then examine a brief history of
mortality research, and discuss the major public health databases available today. We
will discuss the importance of publicly available data, and how to ask questions about
our planet by using these data.
TED talk: The best statistics you have ever seen.
https://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen

Reading materials:
Six basic statistical tools (http://www.fao.org/docrep/W7295E/w7295e08.htm)
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db88.htm
http://www.geography.org.uk/resources/gapminderandworldmapper
Hans Rosling, 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00wgq0l)
http://www.project2061.org/publications/sfaa/online/chap1.htm#Nature
David E Nelson, Bradford W Hesse, Robert T Croyle. Making Data Talk:
Communicating Public Health Data to the Public, Policy Makers, and the Press.
Publisher: Oxford University Press 2009
Week 13 Death of a Stranger (18/4/2016, Yun)
http://prezi.com/xyftbkj46qtt/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0sha
re

Synopsis
Statistics can tell important messages, but these messages are cold and impersonal,
and sometimes lack the sensitivity required for dealing with the loss of human lives.
Description of deaths in literature can reveal social and political landscape of the
contemporary world. The advent of the Google news allows us to read newspapers
from all over the world everyday. We will discuss how deaths are reported in different
countries, and try to tell stories about lives in these places.
Les Misrables: the events leading to the death of Fantine.
Death of Chinese illegal immigrants in Morecambe beach in 2004
History of google news search and google street view. Death of Osama Bin Laden in
2011.
Google earth art: the work of Jon Rafman
Linking the world mortality statistics, news article and google street view together to
tell a story about a death in another country

TED talk:
https://www.ted.com/talks/anders_fjellberg_two_nameless_bodies_washed_up_on_th
e_beach_here_are_their_stories#t-80943

Reading materials:
John Skelton, Death and dying in literature. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment
(2003) 9: 211-217 (http://apt.rcpsych.org/content/9/3/211.full)
The story of Les Misrables.
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/09/google-news-at-10-how-the-
algorithm-won-over-the-news-industry/262641/
http://googlenewsblog.blogspot.hk/2012/09/google-news-turns-10.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/gallery/2012/jul/15/photography-google-
street-view