Current Events Feb/Mar

Several news stories related to class, some more serious than others, one's quite bizarre:
1. From The New York Times:  "A Life’s Value May Depend on Agency"
Agencies that calculate the worth of a life have been raising the number, which affects how much the government should spend to prevent a single death.
http://nyti.ms/gCjwiz 

2. From The New York Times:  OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR: Grief, Unedited
Most older people who lose spouses from natural causes recover much more quickly than we have come to expect.
http://nyti.ms/i9CYhe

3. From The New York Times:  BOOKS OF THE TIMES: The Shock Of Losing A Spouse
In “A Widow’s Story” Joyce Carol Oates reflects on the pain of losing her husband after nearly 48 years of marriage.
http://nyti.ms/gmXP3C

4. http://mobile.salon.com/mwt/feature/2011/02/12/truth_about_grief_qa/index.html


5. From The New York Times:  "Assisting Suicide to Be Focus of Trial in Motivational Speaker’s Death"
A defendant who is about to go on trial told the police that, for a payment, he had held a knife as a stranger thrust himself at it.
http://nyti.ms/huHnbQ

6.  14Mar11 Helping doctors help the dying.  http://blogs.hbr.org/innovations-in-health-care/2011/03/-the-stuff-i-do.html

Death as subject in Music

A variety of sources and actual songs about death:
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_ballad
* "On the Banks of the Ohio"   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7C3r9PnoNTw


* Not a murder ballad, but a famous song about death, "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bRJLkNqNXI

Feel free to post others here, of whatever musical genre.

Violent Video Games

(Do you need more of a prompt?).  If you are referencing a particular game, would you please give a brief description of it.

Freud & Football (weeks 4-5)

Class,
Thoughts/observations about Freud with respect to the Superbowl, advertising during & around the Superbowl, forces of aggression & sex?

Medical guests follow-up

Do you have any questions arising from our guests' visit on Tuesday (1 Feb)?  Did they help you understand some issue/question better?  Do you think it is important/relevant to hear from medical personnel when trying to determine what you think the appropriate definition of death is?  Explain.

Freud (week 4-5)

Was Freud right?  About what?  Assume he was right about some major issue (e.g., causes of anxiety, stages of childhood development, psychological structure):  how does that impact death & dying?  According to Freud, are we psychologically capable of understanding our own death?

Medieval Christian Worldview (Week 4)

Comments on this worldview?    In what major ways does that worldview clash with our modern, Western worldview?  How is dying represented in each?

History of Death

What was surprising to you in this chapter?  Does having some idea about our history help you to make more sense out of our current practices surrounding death & dying in the U.S.?

Definition of Death

Does anyone have any follow-up to this discussion?  We didn't get to talk very thoroughly in class about it, but I know you wrote great papers, so perhaps you don't need further discussion?