In Week 1 we will be exploring end of life and dying from an interdisciplinary social science perspective.

In this section we explore various ways the 'end of life' and 'dying' can be defined.

In this section we examine key characteristics of “good” and “bad” dying.

In this section we consider the continuing importance of hospitals at the end of life.

This week focused end of life and dying from a social science perspective, which meant we explored them as intertwined social and physical processes. In order to unsettle our taken-for-granted assumptions, we began by questioning what dying actually ‘is’. We then reviewed some of the key functions and elements of a death system – a term to collectively describe the ways in which we give meaning to and regulate end of life, dying, and death. We then turned to examine specific aspects of our death systems, including the concept of dying trajectories and differing definitions of death. We paid particular attention to the social science origins of dying trajectories, and how a social science approach can help us better understand differing definitions of death in an era where medicine can radically extend the quantity, if not quality, of life. We also explored specific attributes of the dying process that shape our contemporary understanding of a “good” or “bad” death. Through this we learned that people do not always necessarily agree on what it means to die well. We heard about the ways in which being in a hospital at the very end of life can both hinder – but also in some instances help – our ability to achieve a good death. In our final section we learned about the central of hospitals in end of life care within the Global North, and we delved further into the professional and organizational aspects of the hospital setting. We explored the hospital through a systems framework, which enabled us to better see the multitude of stakeholders and interests involved. Finally, we considered a new form of medical care focused on the end of life. We traced the origins, and evolution, of palliative care from the ground-breaking work of Cicely Saunders to the contemporary hospital setting. We identified different types of hospital palliative care, and anticipated the continuing central roles hospitals will continue to play in the twenty-first century. Alt text Yet hospitals are only one location where we receive care, live out our last days, and die. A social science perspective also requires awareness of the enormous diversity of beliefs, behaviours and actions through which we organize end of life. Week Two broadens our focus by discussing a range of innovative community responses to end of life care.