PADUA — It is a topic that has long fascinated humans, from Odysseus’s trip to the netherworld to Dante’s crossing of the Infernal gates. It’s the great mystery of life, as old as the world itself, and yet it remains one of humanity’s greatest fears.
Knowing death allows us to understand life, to process the pain of separation, whether permanent or momentary. These are also among the goals of Italy’s first university master’s program on the end of life, titled “Death Studies.”
The course, designed by the University of Padua, will run from December 15, 2023, to June 19, 2024. It aims to develop the ability to address topics related to death in all its aspects, including emerging issues in cultural, social, and healthcare contexts, with particular focus on current discussions surrounding end-of-life care.
A new template to engage with death
So, what’s on the syllabus? The interdisciplinary program has an ambitious scope, ranging from the cultural and historical evolution of death to the psychological processes of mourning. It will even aim to introduce death education as an educational and preventive strategy.
The course will study the symbolism and representations related to death in different cultural contexts, including elements of bioethics, biolaw, and thanatological counseling. It will also assess the relationship between thanatology and medical, psychological, philosophical, sociological, anthropological, and historical sciences. Finally, it will cover the care and management of end-of-life issues.
We lack the tools to confront bad news that directly affects us or our loved ones.
This program is not the first of its kind in the world: Thanatology find a place in many universities, usually focusing on the medical and psychological elements of bereavement. The University of Padua will be the first to cover the subject in Italy, a country which culturally navigates death through its deep relationship with Catholicism. Perhaps this course will step away from that template and take a broader, more complex stance.
“The program delves into the representations of death and their impact on our lives,” explains Ines Testoni, course director and author of The Big Book of Death and The Last Birth. “This impact is something that we unconsciously experience because we lack the categories to understand what it means to die and why it is such a terrifying topic. Today, in the Western world, we are constantly drawn to everything that celebrates life, success, and well-being, but we shy away from any opportunity to reflect on death. So when we inevitably have to confront death, whether our own or of someone we love, we find ourselves entirely unprepared, both from a symbolic/cultural perspective and from a psychological, relational, and practical standpoint.”
Relieving anxieties and encouraging conversation
According to Testoni, we lack the tools to confront bad news that directly affects us or our loved ones. As a result, we don’t know how to be there for those experiencing grief. This grief, in turn, is overwhelmed by intimate and social relational dynamics. “The distress from losses, therefore, transforms into anxiety,” Testoni adds, “because precisely what we fear now defines the boundaries of our relationships. This program will provide [an interdisciplinary lens] to understand what we are afraid of and to recognize its effects.”
Humans suffer for what they believe they are, and if they believe they are mortal, the suffering, besides being excruciating and inevitable, is also incurable, adds Testoni. According to the professor, having awareness of this kind of pain, and bringing it to the surface from the unconscious where we lock it away, is the first step in transforming anxiety into awareness.
Testoni says the program’s other goal is to critically evaluate what we believe dying means in the light of this awareness. And finally, to help participants dive into their own experiences of loss and giving them meaning through such reflections.
The program, which will also cover the subject of euthanasia and medically assisted death, is suitable for doctors, nurses, psychologists, educators, teachers, social workers, as well as artists and journalists. It promises to hold space for different positions, allowing everyone to form and voice their own thoughts on the great unknown.
