Abstract
I share my experience of using contemplative practices, adapted for secular college classroom from different religious traditions, in a course on death and dying. The topic of death brings up intense emotions for most people, especially for young adults. These emotions often prevent students from engaging with the course materials, obstructing learning. They also spill over into the classroom space. Over the years, I have realized that teaching and learning about death requires that I also teach students how to manage their emotions and intentionally help them find meaning in the fact of human suffering and mortality. Contemplative pedagogy and practices have enabled me to do so. I share in this presentation the difficulties I have faced, the lessons I have learned, and the best practices I have developed in teaching about death. I hope to contribute to the larger conversations about teaching difficult topics, teaching the whole person (instead of isolating the intellectual side of our students from their emotional and spiritual sides), and the problematic issues with using religious practices in secular settings.
Presenters
Bishal KarnaAssistant Professor, Religious Studies, Nazareth College, New York, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Contemplative practices, Pedagogy, Death and dying, Difficult topics, Higher education
