PSB_527 Thanatology

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2013
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
PhDr. Slávka Demuthová, Ph.D. (lecturer), PhDr. Pavel Humpolíček, Ph.D. (deputy)
Guaranteed by
PhDr. Zdenka Stránská, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of Psychology – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Fri 22. 3. 8:15–13:15 C51, Fri 5. 4. 8:15–13:15 C51, Fri 26. 4. 10:15–17:45 C51
Prerequisites
PSA_019 Developmental Psychology II
Pre-requisites: Ontogenetical psychology
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 35 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/35, only registered: 0/35
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The aim of the subject is to focus student´s attention to the problems of death and dying that are tabooed in our culture. Attendants should get acquainted with the death concept development throughout the life cycle, with the common problems connected with life threatening and lethal illnesses and diagnoses, as well as with the possible ways of handling this situation by dying person, his relatives or wider surroundings.
Syllabus
  • 1. The place of thanatology in the science system (links and relations between thanatology and the directly adjacent psychological and non-psychological areas; the question of multidisciplinarity within gaining and providing information from and to other sciences)

    2. Historical and religious influences of death concepts and death attitudes in our culture (questions of im/mortality, general and personal death attitudes, burial and funeral ceremonies over the time…)

    4. The development of the death concept in ontogenesis and its specificities within „different“ developmental abnormalities (apprehension of death before „self revelation“, components of death concept and its changes – finality, universality, nonfunctionality, irreversibility, causality…; MR, autism, high IQ…)

    5. The most common problems of deathwards from psychological point of view and the possible ways of their moderating (fear, helplessness, depression, interpersonal problems, hyper- or hypo- protectivity, environmental factors…; hardiness, psychological intervention, communication, social nets…)

    6. The most common problems of the family and environs of dying (ontogenetical (child, adolescent, adult, senior) and personal (member of the family, friend, clasemate, collegue) specifics, acceptation of lethal illness, lack of information on deathward´s diagnose, medical treatment…, uncertainity on death concept, knowledge, actual attitude… of the dying)

    7. The role of psychology in the handling the somatic complications within the care of the dying (relaps of the disease, the problem of pain experession and its suppression, lassitude, dyspnoea, dysorexia…)

    8. Units for dying and home palliative care (specifics of palliative care units at hospitals and hospices, advantages and disadvantages of the home care, possibilities of help with the care of dying)

    9. The dying – trajectories and phases (cooperation between proffesionals and dying person (his/her families), possible trajectories of dying, symptoms of terminal phase of illness according to the diagnose, last hours of the life…)

    10. The problem of normal and pathological grieving (common reactions to a death depending on the relationship and situation, normal (non-pathological) ways of handling the death, complicated grieving and pathological features in grieving)
Literature
  • Foster, S., Smith, P.: Brief lives. London, Arlington Books 1987.
  • Dolista, J., Skořepa, L., Pána, L. (eds.): Člověk ve stínu svého konce. České Budějovice, Vysoká škola evropských a regionálních studií 2007.
  • Kübler – Ross, E.: Odpovědi na otázky smrti a umírání. Doplněno samostatnými příspěvky a komentáři. Praha, Tvorba 1995.
  • Selsby, J.: Traumatic grief: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention. Philadelphia, Taylor and Francis 1999.
  • Kübler – Ross, E. (several editions of books): On Death and Dying; On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss; Life Lessons: Two Experts on Death and Dying Teach Us About the Mysteries of Life and Living; ...
  • Kübler – Ross, E. (several editions of books): Death: The Final Stage of Growth; Questions and Answers on Death and Dying; ...
  • Andrášiová, M.: Keď do života vstúpi rakovina. Bratislava, Landy 2009
  • Gulay, J. E.: The dying child. McGraw-Hill Company, Inc. 1978.
  • Kastenbaum, R.: The Psychology of death. 3. ed., New York, Springer Publishing Company, Inc. 1999.
  • Journals: Death Studies; Journal of Palliative Care; Journal of Palliative Medicine; Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing
  • Démuthová, S.: Keď umiera dieťa. Praktická tanatológia I. Pusté Úľany, Schola Philosophica 2010
  • HAŠKOVCOVÁ, Helena. Thanatologie : nauka o umírání a smrti. 2., přepr. vyd. Praha: Galén, 2007, 244 s. ISBN 9788072624713. info
  • O'CONNOR, Margaret. Paliativní péče : pro sestry všech oborů. Translated by Jana Heřmanová. 1. české vyd. Praha: Grada, 2005, 324 s. ISBN 8024712954. info
  • KÜBLER-ROSS, Elisabeth. O dětech a smrti. Translated by Jiří Královec. Praha: Ermat, 2003, 311 s. ISBN 8090308619. info
  • Encyclopedia of death and dying. Edited by Glennys Howarth - Oliver Leaman. 1st ed. New York: Routledge, 2002, xxii, 534. ISBN 0415188253. info
  • Hovory s umírajícími. Edited by Elisabeth Kuebler-Ross. 1. vyd. [Hradec Králové]: Signum unitatis, 1992, 135 s. ISBN 80-85439-04-2. info
Teaching methods
Lecturing combined with short task works connected with the topic of the lesson, discussing problems and experience learning
Assessment methods
Fulfilling the tasks at lessons (40% of evaluation)
Paper – an essay on the given topic (60% of evaluation)
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2013, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2013/PSB_527