Hello! My name is Jenny and I am in my third year. I am an Anthropology major and a history minor. I am interested in this course because I am fascinated by the idea of wars and conflict and death from both an anthropological and historical point of view. I was never the kid that read Harry Potter, but rather, was submerged in autobiographies of the the Holocaust and other wartime stories from Vietnam, etc. The affects, both during and after wars and natural disasters, on people have always peaked my interest as well. For my history minor, I have focused on war history, which of course encompasses the tragedy of bi-standard casualties and front line casualties -- thus are the realities of war. I am also strangely overly fascinated with cemeteries, and have spent more time than I would like to admit wandering around in them looking at headstones and reading peoples inscriptions.
As of now I have no clue what post-undergrad life looks like for me, but I imagine it will involve grad school, as both fields I've chosen to study seem to require grad school these days in order to pursue them. I spent the year after high school travelling, and of course, now can't get enough of it and take off whenever I have a chance --hopefully I can get in some more time before I commit to another degree.
What I would like to get out of this course is a more widespread and complex understanding of different death/burial/memorial and remembrance practices preformed around the world and over the course of history.