This course will explore a cultural and structural overview of death and dying in American society. Topics include the historical contexts of the care and treatment of the dying and the dead; attitudes toward death; bereavement over the life course; socialization to death; anticipatory grief and terminal illness; funeral rituals and their social functions; burial, mourning and grief practices; and suicide and assisted suicide. Cannot earn credit if previously taken SOC 597 "Special Topics: Death and Dying in America".