Part 2: Assignment
Read/watch at least one of the following:
– Brief article in The Atlantic about the “death over dinner” movement that evolved out of a
graduate course at the University of Washington in 2013 and has evolved as a strategy to help
people explore and express their values and preferences for facing the end of life.
– Brief video with Alua Arthur explain their role as a death doula: “I help people die for a living”
Develop a discussion guide about what types of questions YOU would ask if you were to host an event
or have a conversation with loved ones related to death or end of life issues. Your goal is to: (1)
identify who you would invite to this conversation and (2) create a list of questions that will comprise
your discussion guide.
In order to generate a discussion guide with a list of at least 5-7 questions to facilitate this
conversation, you may come up with your own questions or you can draw from our class resources
(e.g., class discussion, textbook). In addition, you should consider and cite from the following:
– The questions posed by Dr. Atul Gawande, M.D., author of the book “Being Mortal”, in which he raises
issues about quality of life, end-of-life planning, relationships with medical professionals, and family
conversations about dying. Click here for the article and a video.
– The questions posed by Peter Saul in his TED talk “Let’s talk about dying”.
– The questions introduced in the “Hello” game played in class.
– Spend time reflecting on what you learned from guest speaker Daniela Miranda Loria from End-of-life
Washington.
– Download and review additional copies of advance directives or living wills.
o For example, you could compare and contrast the different forms/information you find: do you
prefer the traditional format or the Five Wishes format? Would this also help spark conversations
with your loved ones about final wishes?
