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78101-01 - Seminar: Anthropology of Death (3 CP)
| Semester | spring semester 2026 |
| Course frequency | Irregular |
| Lecturers | Michael Stasik (michael.stasik@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | This course introduces key debates in the anthropology of death through two intersecting themes: the imaginaries through which death is envisioned, and the materialities through which it is handled. (1) We explore how communities accommodate mortality through ritual, mourning, commemoration and forgetting, notions of rebirth and attempts at technological preservation, and how these practices and imaginaries organise loss, care and moral valuation. (2) We trace the materialities of death: bodies and their transformations, the work of burial, disposal, exhumation and funerary industries. Bringing classical and contemporary anthropological readings into conversation, the course attends to how kinship, religion, medicine and the state claim authority over declaring, managing and (dis)owning the dead, and situates death within questions of value, personhood, violence and suffering, while also opening onto possible futures of the afterlife. The course includes a visit to the MKB exhibition 'Der Weg ins Jenseits' and likely a guided walk through a Basel cemetery. |
| Comments | Participants are encouraged to set digital devices (laptops, tablets, phones) aside during sessions, except when needed for accessibility or specific assignments. |
| Admission requirements | The number of participants is limited to 25 people. The places are assigned according to date of enrollment and subject of study. Priority will be given to the subjects listed under "modules". The seminar is open to MA and advanced BA students (from the 4th semester onwards). |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Wednesday | 12.15-14.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 212 |
Dates
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday 18.02.2026 | 12.15-14.00 | Bernoullistrasse 14/16, Seminarraum 02.004 |
| Wednesday 25.02.2026 | 12.15-14.00 | Fasnachtswoche |
| Wednesday 04.03.2026 | 12.15-14.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 212 |
| Wednesday 11.03.2026 | 12.15-14.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 212 |
| Wednesday 18.03.2026 | 12.15-14.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 212 |
| Wednesday 25.03.2026 | 12.15-14.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 212 |
| Wednesday 01.04.2026 | 12.15-14.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 212 |
| Wednesday 08.04.2026 | 12.15-14.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 212 |
| Wednesday 15.04.2026 | 12.15-14.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 212 |
| Wednesday 22.04.2026 | 12.15-14.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 212 |
| Wednesday 29.04.2026 | 12.15-14.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 212 |
| Wednesday 06.05.2026 | 12.15-14.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 212 |
| Wednesday 13.05.2026 | 12.15-14.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 212 |
| Wednesday 20.05.2026 | 12.15-14.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 212 |
| Wednesday 27.05.2026 | 12.15-14.00 | Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 212 |
| Modules |
Modul: Erweiterung Religionswissenschaft (Bachelor's degree subject: Study of Religion) Modul: Sachthemen der Ethnologie (Bachelor's degree subject: Anthropology) Modul: Theory and General Anthropology (Master's degree subject: Anthropology) Modul: Wissenschaftliche Vertiefung in der Ethnologie: Sachthemen (Bachelor's degree subject: Anthropology) Module: Fields: Knowledge Production and Transfer (Master's degree program: African Studies) Module: Fields: Public Health and Social Life (Master's degree program: African Studies) Module: Migration, Mobility and Transnationalism (Master's degree program: Changing Societies: Migration – Conflicts – Resources) Module: Migration, Mobility and Transnationalism (Bachelor's Studies - Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences) Module: Migration, Mobility and Transnationalism (Master's Studies - Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | as often as necessary |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Ethnologie |