| Fall 2004 |
|
| American Studies | Physiology | Sociology |
| Physiology visits to talk about physiology and birth, especially how a woman's body goes into labor (and when and why) |
American Studies visits to talk about the history of death in America | American Studies visits to talk about ethical issues and death |
| Sociology visits to talk about inequality in the United States and longevity. | Sociology visits to talk about social factors that shape disease processes. |
Physiology visits to talk about answers to the question "what is disease?" |
Students in all three courses were also "born" as "alter egos." Students were responsible for learning about the life histories, disease issues, and socio-economic status of their alter egos. The alter egos were written collaboratively by the three faculty involved to insure that each discipline had material of value to the faculty member's individual course.
What Are The Goals Of The Symposium As A "Capstone" Experience?
- Include a brief writing assignment that helps students organize their thoughts about the experience
- Share components that foreground each of the disciplinary perspectives
- Provide ample time for discussion so that students in each of the courses have an opportunity to hear from one another
- Provide opportunity for feedback from students on the experience of the interdisciplinary part of the courses
- Allow students to be involved in a "death" experience that draws upon all of the information developed in the individual courses
- Grant undergraduates a participatory, innovative learning experience
How Did The Symposium Accomplish These Goals?
Students began the evening by "checking in" as their alter egos. Each student received a nametag with their alter ego's name and sat down in an assigned seat. Throughout the evening students assumed the identity of their alter ego and, after writing a response to opening questions from the faculty moderators, each student shared "their" story with the other students at the table. Students asked each other questions and reflected on the different situations and challenges facing each student's alter ego.How Did Death Enter The Picture?
Unbeknownst to them, some of the students' alter egos were about to "die." After spending time discussing and getting to know each other's stories, the Grim Reaper appeared and "selected" several students from around the room. These students left the room and were taken to a "liminal state" elsewhere in the building.
The alter egos selected to "die" were, despite appearances, carefully chosen ahead of time by the faculty. They represented a range of situations, from terminal disease cases to relatively minor ailments. Designed to simulate the uncertainty of death, the placemat at each student's assigned seat told the Grim Reaper which alter egos the faculty had chosen for the liminal state and which would stay in the main Symposium room.
Our Grim Reaper "chooses" a student. Note the red placemat that guided the Grim Reaper. These allowed the professors to direct the Symposium while maintaining the appearance of randomness and uncertaininty for the students.
What Happened To The "Survivors?"
Those students still in the main Symposium next opened up the sealed envelopes that had been sitting at their table all evening. Once again, the faculty carefully planned out the contents of each student's envelope in order to stimulate discussion and reflection.
Two students at each table learned that their alter ego's disease had progressed further and would require additional medical care or services. Their envelopes contained details on how their medical condition has changed, as well as a summary of what would happen next.
The remaining students at the table learned that they were now part of a Review Board. As a member of this Review Board, they had control of three health care units which they could distribute to the two students whose condition had deteriorated. Their job was now to interview the two students in order to make an informed and careful choice as to how many credits each alter ego should receive. Since each Review Board had a total of nine health care units, the Review Board was forced to make a conscious decision between the two cases. Although they were free to assign the units in any way they saw fit, they could not split a unit into fractions, necessitating a choice between the two patients.
Review Board members represented each of the three classes participating in the Symposium. They asked questions and listened to the two students whose alter egos needed additional medical assistance. The Review Boards then reviewed the two cases and, at each table, came to a group consensus on how to divide the health care units. The students took their work very seriously, and every table used the maximum available time to reach their decision.
To reinforce the difficulty of the decision, and the importance of such agonizing choices in real life, the Grim Reaper appeared again, this time selecting the student at each table whose alter ego received the smaller amount of health care units. These students joined their colleagues in the liminal state elsewhere in the building. The members of the Review Boards then discussed, moderated by faculty, the choices they had been faced with and the reasons for their difficult decisions.
What Was This "Liminal State?"
The students who followed the Grim Reaper were taken to a specially prepared room, whihch represented a "liminal state": between life and death. In actuality it was a lounge decorated to resemble a funeral parlor, complete with casket, where the students could discuss and examine the experience of the American way of death. The discussion was moderated by Dr. Timothy Marr, a professor in UNC's American Studies program who taught one of the courses involved in the Symposium.
Dr. Marr talked with the students about the various ways Americans prepare for and handle death, both their own and those of loved ones and friends. He asked the students, in the role of their alter egos, how many had informed their families of their wishes for funeral arrangements, for burial or cremation, or organ donation and other options and challenges facing surviving family members.
When the second group of students arrived, the discussion shifted to the situations facing their alter egos and the causes for their lack of health care units. Students examined the choices facing individuals, organizations, and systems in America that deal with issues of both health and, unfortunately, death, every day.
Note: Although designed as an interesting and educational experience, we recognized the possibility of a student's strong emotional response to these activities. At all times a faculty or staff member was prepared to discuss and comfort, in a safe environment, any student who reacted strongly to the evening's events.
How Did The Students Respond To The Symposium?
At the end of the evening, the students left their alter egos behind and returned to their original 
seats as UNC first year students. They discussed the evening's events with each other and the faculty moderators and wrote some of their thoughts and comments.
