PSYCHOLOGY OF DEATH AND LOSSOffice: Psychology 413Dusana Rybarova received her M.A. degree in cognitive psychology and cognitive science from the Department of Psychology at the University of Arizona where she currently is a Ph.D. candidate. She gained her clinical graduate degree (equivalent to M.A.) in 1999 from the Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia, and is also a Ph.D. candidate in Philosophy of Mind and Science at the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava.PSYC 456 – 2007 Summer Session IIPSYCHOLOGY OF DEATH AND LOSS Dusana Rybarova, M.A.Office: Psychology 413e-mail: [email protected] This class will lead you through issues relevant to the process of dying, preparation for death,different attitudes towards death and coping with death and loss. The purpose of the class is toprovide you with basic scientific information relevant to the subject, and to help you face thetopic on personal level. The class will approach death and loss as unique opportunities forpersonal growth and spiritual evolution.Class time: 07/09/07 - 08/08/07 – M Tu W Th F 5:00 – 6:45 p.m. Room: EDUC 351Course readings and material:Required reading:Marrone, R. (2004). Death, Mourning & Caring. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth-Thomson Learning.Course website:There will be Power Point handouts for each class outlining the main points of the lecture. The handouts are downloadable from the course web page: http://www.u.arizona.edu/~dusana/psyc456/ Class format:The class will be divided into two parts with a 5-10 minutes break in the middle. At the beginning of the second part of the class students will give short presentations relevant to the topic discussed. Student presentations and movies presented in class should encourage in-class discussions.Class behavior:Regular attendance is highly recommended. You are expected to arrive on time and not leave before the class is completed. We will discuss many sensitive topics in the class, so please be respectful and open-minded to your classmates' comments. If you want to include some sensitivematerial in your presentation, it needs to be discussed with me beforehand. It goes without saying that cheating, plagiarism or other kinds of dishonest behavior are unacceptable.Grading: Your grade will consist of 2 in-class exams (each worth 30% of your grade), a final essay (20%) and an in-class presentation (20%). Exams:Each of the two exams is worth 30% of your grade, the final is not cumulative. Neither of the exams can be dropped. Each of the exams will consist of short answer questions. 1Presentation:Each student is required to give a short (10-15 minutes) presentation on a topic relevant to the issues discussed in the class. The presentation is worth 20% of your grade. The presentation should consist of information from at least 2 different sources (one of them published in a refereed scientific journal). You should use campus library sources in search for relevant publications. The presentation should be professionally prepared. I encourage you to use PowerPoint software for your presentation. Don't forget to provide references at the end of your presentation!Final essay:Each student is required to write an essay on a topic relevant to the class. The essay is worth 20%of your grade. The essay should be at minimum 4 pages double spaced (font 12 Times New Roman). Just like your presentation, the essay should utilize information from at least 2 different sources (one of them published in a refereed scientific journal). You should use campus library sources in search for relevant publications. Don’t forget the references at the end!Extra credit:You can raise your grade by writing a short essay (up to two pages double spaced) on a topic of your choice relevant to the issues discussed in class. The essay is worth up to 5% of your grade. Grades:A 90-100%B 80-89%C 65-79%D 51-64%F 0-50% About your instructor:Dusana Rybarova received her M.A. degree in cognitive psychology and cognitive science from the Department of Psychology at the University of Arizona where she currently is a Ph.D. candidate. She gained her clinical graduate degree (equivalent to M.A.) in 1999 from the Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia, and is also a Ph.D. candidate in Philosophy of Mind and Science at the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava. Office hours:Tuesdays 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Psychology building – room 413Thursdays 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Psychology building – room 413or by appointment.Students with disabilities: If you anticipate the need for reasonable accommodations to meet them requirements of this course, you must register with the Disability Resource Center and request that the DRC send me official notification of your accommodation needs as soon as possible. Please plan to meet with me by appointment or during office hours to discuss accommodations and how my course requirements and activities may impact your ability to fully participate.2COURSE CALENDAR: Date Topic ReadingsJuly 9 BASIC ISSUESIntroduction(Movie) July 10 Attitudes towards death Ch1July 11 Death across cultures Ch1 July 12 When and how we die Ch2 (movie)July 13 When and how we die Ch2July 16 Stages of Dying Ch3 July 17 Needs of the dying/Spiritual experiences Ch3 (movie)July 18 Mourning and stress Ch4 July 19 Stress of loss and coping I Ch4July 20 Stress of loss and coping II Ch4 (movie)July 23 Midterm ExamJuly 24 UNEXPECTED DEATHChild and deathCh5 July 25 Grieving children Ch5 (movie)July 26 Death and adolescence Ch6July 27 Suicide Ch6July 30 Death and adulthood Ch7 (movie)July 31 Death of a child Ch7Aug 1 EXPECTED DEATHAging and deathCh8 (movie)Aug 2 Coping with death in old age Ch8Aug 3 Caring for the dying Ch9Aug 6 Hospice programs Ch9 (movie)Aug 7 Preparing for death Ch10 Aug 8 Final essays due Final