A Better Life:

Anthropological Inquiry into Living and Dying Well

facilitated by Dr. Monica Mikhail

What does it mean to live a good life if the condition of living becomes one of dying?

In this seminar, we will embark on a brief exploration of the anthropology of life and consider how attention to death sheds light on the contingencies of life differentially experienced. In the first session, we will examine the kinds of questions that emerge for anthropologists about the good life when investigating the limits of living in contexts where a good life does not seem possible here on this earth. In the second session, we will take a look at excerpts from a few ethnographies of peoples living in a disastrous present and consider how the intrusion of dying into living affects how we might conceive of the preconditions of living a good life.

Date: Wednesdays, March 8 and 15, 2023

Time: 6:00- 7:15pm

Location: Berkeley Institute (2134 Allston Way, 2nd floor)