The 'right to die' in America is the topic of a unique Cornell course

By Rachel Solomon Einschlag '04

Every Wednesday afternoon, about 17 students gather in a small, windowless room in Lincoln Hall to discuss topics ranging from fear of grave robbing in the 19th century to childhood death to today's right-to-die movement.

Students in "The History of Death in America" class engage in discussion after watching a video Nov. 11 in Lincoln Hall. Katherine Chan '06, right, makes a point, while Javier Sullivan '04, left, and Laura Obijuru '04 take note. Frank DiMeo/University Photography

They are participating in a Cornell class that possibly is unique in U.S. education, yet about an ultimate universal experience -- death. The course is Science and Technology Studies (S&TS) 455, "The History of Death in America."

"Our attitudes toward death are constantly changing," said Erin McLeary, a Cornell visiting S&TS professor. "We can learn more about past perceptions of death by exploring the vocabulary we use for speaking about it today."

The class deals with opinions of death strictly on a historical rather than a psychological scale. The topic brings together a diverse group, including future doctors and lawyers as well as students in art history, linguistics and biology.

McLeary's interest in the topic of death lies particularly in issues surrounding physician-assisted suicide. Historically speaking, right-to-die cases are a relatively new development because of technology that now is able to keep a critically injured or stricken person alive.

"My goal for the class is to push people past the perspective that death is a technology-mediated event that happens in a hospital, alone. This treatment of death is recent," she said.

A few weeks ago, the class viewed a video about Donald Cowart, a 1973 burn victim who said he wanted to die. The class then questioned suicide laws, society's right to keep a person alive and what it means "to play God."

There also was discussion of the recent right-to-die case in Florida involving brain-dead Terri Schiavo, who has been kept alive for the past 12 years on a feeding tube.

"It is a case of futility versus utility," said Gerren Faustini '04. "It is futile because it is highly unlikely we will see [Schiavo] come out of her coma. The case is also a question of utility because the money and services we are using for [Schiavo] are being kept from other people."

Alexandru Anastase '05 disagreed. "Some doctors have said that with access to certain treatment [Schiavo] could get better," Anastase claimed. "If she has a chance, I wouldn't want to withdraw treatment."

Anastase, a residential adviser for Low Rise 9 in the North Campus Low Rise complex, is leading a program to educate his residents about right-to-die issues and the importance of having a living will. "The [Schiavo] case has been an eye-opener for me," Anastase said. "It made me think about what I would want done to me if I were in a permanent vegetative state."

Observes McLeary: "What draws the class together is active engagement in learning about different perspectives on how Americans have reacted to death. I've been surprised at how open the students are with each other."