12 Literature, Textbook, and Primary Source: Constructing the Reading List

12 Literature, Textbook, and Primary Source: Constructing the Reading List

Sarah K. Pinnock

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This chapter discusses the advantages of using religious literature in teaching about death, in order to relieve the topic of its morbid stereotype and approach it positively and holistically. The chapter uses the term “literature” broadly to encompass death narratives about religious persons that may be fictional, biographical, or scriptural. The use of literature intentionally disrupts student expectations for a survey textbook, which is used as ancillary. Reflecting on selected classics of death literature as examples, the chapter considers how these narratives situate religious perspectives historically and culturally without reducing death or religion to abstractions. Discussion centers on The Death of Ivan Ilyich By Leo Tolstoy, I Heard the Owl Call My Nameby Margaret Craven, Night by Elie Wiesel, and Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom.

 

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February 6, 2018