{"id":92164,"date":"2021-11-10T10:08:50","date_gmt":"2021-11-10T15:08:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/?p=92164"},"modified":"2021-11-10T10:08:50","modified_gmt":"2021-11-10T15:08:50","slug":"literature-course-a-matter-of-life-and-death-and-purpose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2021\/11\/10\/literature-course-a-matter-of-life-and-death-and-purpose\/","title":{"rendered":"Literature Course a Matter of Life and Death \u2013 and Purpose"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shelley Nguyen hasn\u2019t landed on a career choice yet, but she\u2019s already contemplating what kind of legacy she wants to leave.<\/p>\n

\"A
A UMW course called Literature of Death and Purpose has students exploring prose and poetry grappling with grief, loss and life’s meaning. Photo by Annabelle Shuler.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to think about how I want to live my life,\u201d said Nguyen, a University of Mary Washington sophomore and international affairs major who spends a few minutes each morning jotting down notes in a gratitude journal. \u201cI\u2019m glad I\u2019m already figuring these things out.\u201d<\/p>\n

She began to think along those lines during one of her first courses at Mary Washington: Literature of Death and Purpose<\/em>. Introduced right before COVID hit in spring of 2020, the timely class covers two millennia of prose and poetry grappling with grief, loss and life\u2019s meaning. In addition to literary analysis, students write letters to their 80-year-old selves, practice connecting with strangers, visit cemeteries and take photos to illustrate what brings them joy. Projects like these have helped them process the pandemic and reflect on what the late poet Mary Oliver \u2013 whose work \u201cThe Summer Day\u201d<\/a> made it onto the syllabus \u2013 called their \u201cone wild and precious life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conceived and taught by Professor of English Marie McAllister, whose research explores the intersection of literature and medicine as well as 18th-century works, the class was originally meant to focus on health. But, as she began developing it three years ago, McAllister found many pieces that wrestled with death, illness, pain and suffering.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought, \u2018Wow, that\u2019s pretty bleak,\u2019\u201d she said, \u201cbut much of what has been written about death is actually about how to live our best life while we still can. Once I realized the course should also be about purpose, it came together really quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

McAllister borrowed concepts from Norma Bowe, an education professor and former nurse who teaches a popular course on death at New Jersey\u2019s Kean University, and from sociology and psychology departments across the country. \u201cIt gave me insight into some of life\u2019s hardest truths,\u201d said senior Chandler Carlson, a biochemistry and psychology double major, who felt the class helped him prepare for his future medical career.<\/p>\n

\"McAllister's <\/a>
McAllister’s students take photos that illustrate what brings them joy. For Tejaswi Panday, that’s her French bulldog, Bailey. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Victoria <\/a>
Victoria Gallaway took a photo of fellow UMW students Carter Bussey and Zoe Hanrahan having fun spinning in chairs in the Hurley Convergence Center. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Maddison <\/a>
Maddison Pfautz shared a picture of this seasonal doormat at the entrance of a dorm room. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"For <\/a>
For the assignment, Victoria Gallaway shared a photo of Adirondack chairs nestled in a quiet corner of the Mary Washington campus. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Maddison <\/a>
Maddison Pfautz also submitted a photo of her dog, Bear, as something that brings her joy. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Emma <\/a>
Emma Dabolt found beauty in these black-eyed Susans from one of UMW’s pollinator gardens on campus. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Jon <\/a>
Jon Pietrak shared the simple joy of a hot cup of coffee. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Most of the readings \u2013 spanning from Ancient Rome to just a few years ago \u2013 are poetry, such as Emily Dickinson\u2019s \u201cBecause I Could Not Stop for Death\u201d and Dylan Thomas\u2019 \u201cDo Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.\u201d But a 2005 essay, \u201cAlways Go to the Funeral<\/a>,\u201d resonated most with junior Emma Parker.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt taught me that no matter how busy or caught up we get in our own lives, showing up for others will always make a difference,\u201d said Parker, a communication and digital studies major who feels the course helped her cope when the pandemic death toll started to rise. \u201cIt was so comforting to have a community of people who were trying to make sense of grief and loss during this unprecedented time.\u201d<\/p>\n

One assignment includes writing goodbye letters to the deceased, former friends and lovers, and even to graduations, proms and other rites of passage cancelled due to COVID. Students also pen personal accomplishment lists, play games that prompt challenging conversations about life and death, and engage in laughing yoga<\/a>. \u201cI got some raised eyebrows with that one,\u201d McAllister said. \u201cWe all felt silly but had a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

A creative writing major, senior Tristan Barber said putting together a giving list \u2013 think \u201cbucket list\u201d with ways to give back to others \u2013 and an end-of-life planning document gave him clarity.<\/p>\n

\u201cDeath is inevitable, but it doesn\u2019t need to dominate our lives,\u201d said Barber, who has lost several friends and family members. \u201cThis course helped me understand my own experiences, alleviated anxieties and gave me a new perspective on my life and work.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shelley Nguyen hasn\u2019t landed on a career choice yet, but she\u2019s already contemplating what kind of legacy she wants to leave. \u201cIt\u2019s important to think about how I want to live my life,\u201d said Nguyen, a University of Mary Washington sophomore and international affairs major who spends a few minutes each morning jotting down notes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1236,"featured_media":92170,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"umw_cb_additional_links":[[]],"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_advisory_expires_time":"","_advisory_meta_include":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[704],"tags":[14965,15001],"topics":[5148],"class_list":{"0":"post-92164","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-stories","8":"tag-department-of-english-and-linguistics","9":"tag-mmcallis","10":"topic-learning-impact","11":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLiterature Course a Matter of Life and Death \u2013 and 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