History of Afterlife (2022 Boccaccini), course

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History of the Afterlife is a course offered by Prof. Gabriele Boccaccini at the University of Michigan in the Fall 2022.

Textbook

  • Bart Ehrman, Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife (2020)

Office Hours

  • Tue-Thu 4:30-5:20 (before classes; 4145 Thayer) or after class.

Syllabus

1. Introduction. Presentation of the course. From Polytheism to Monotheism. Reflections on Evil and the Destiny of the Individual after Death in Judaism, Christianity, Islam and other religious traditions.

Part I - The Land of the Living and the Land of the Dead

1. Death as Passage to the Other Side (Sheol, Hades): Fulfillment of Life or Absence of Life? The funeral rituals needed for the dead to "rest in peace".

2. The Dead and the living. The Dead among us (Ghosts). Summoning the Dead (Mediumship, necromancy). Visiting the Dead (journeys to the otherworld). In Judaism and in the Mediterranean World.

3. What if something went wrong? The Afterlife as Remedy and Restoration (The Enoch Tradition), The first notion of Hell (Gehenna as a place of punishment for the Fallen Angels). The Ghosts as evil spirits.

4. The Maccabean Revolt and the Problem of Martyrdom: Covenant and Resurrection from the Dead (2 Maccabees)

5. The Book of Daniel: The Last Judgment as Time of Reward and Revenge

6. The Legacy of the Sheol in Literature and the Arts: Mediumship and Ghost Stories.

- Students' reports (6 meetings).

Ghost Movies (oral presentation and midterm paper)

Oral presentation in class (30m) -- Each students will be assigned a movie and will watch a second movie assigned to the other student to whom he/she will paired for the oral presentation in class (PowerPoint, clips, etc.). It requires a presentations of the plot of the two movies and a critical discussions of its major features and a critical comparison between the two. Some research must be done about the filmmakers, the reception of the movie, the literary source of the script, etc. (Wikipedia and the International Movie Database should be only the starting point). Grading will reflect the amount of research devoted by the students and the quality of their presentation.

Individual Paper (5-7 pages; double-space) -- It requires the reading of the first 7 chapters of the textbook and the view of two additional movies (not included in your oral presentation) of your choice, one for each of the groups not covered by your assigned movie). The paper shall not focus on the plot of the movies but offer a critical comparison of the (different) ways in which ghosts are presented in the four movies and a critical discussion of the reasons these differences are present in the movies. Some research must be done about the filmmaker, and the reception of the movie the literary source of the script (Wikipedia and the International Movie Database should be only the starting point). The paper must contain a note of at least three major sources that have been consulted. Grading will reflect the amount of research devoted by the students and the quality of their presentation.

[WARNING - As with all products of the past, movies are not immune to the racial, gender and social prejudices of their age. Some may seem disturbing or inappropriate to some viewers due to their graphic or sexual content. In a university setting, we look at them critically as historical evidence of how representations of the afterlife have evolved over the years.]

GROUP A:

  • The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1947) -- Based on a 1945 novel by R. A. Dick, the film stars Gene Tierney, Rex Harrison, and George Sanders. It is about a woman who moves to a remote home on the English seaside. Once there, she finds herself living with an unintended house guest, a ghost. She begins a relationship with the spirit and agrees to write his memoirs. This movie explores relationships between the living and the dead.

GROUP B

GROUP C

  • Ghost (Jerry Zucker, 1990) -- Does love keep going after a person dies? This blockbuster hit from 1990 explores that idea, with Patrick Swayze in the starring role as the ghost partner looking to sort out precisely why his spirit is still on earth. Alongside Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg, this movie features some iconic scenes and acting. Goldberg won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in this film.


Major Questions to be addressed (in the oral presentation and in the paper):

  • Why the ghost is still on earth (and not in the otherworld)?
  • What is the place that is haunted? And why?
  • What is the ghost's "unfinished work"?
  • Is the ghost benevolent and malevolent?
  • Who "sees" the ghost? Or is the ghost who decides to appear?
  • Does the medium act involuntarily and is he/she the one who summons the ghost?
  • Which are the circumstances and the features of the ghost's appearance?
  • Are divine beings (gods, angels, demons, etc.) involved (and to which extent) in the relationship between the living and the dead)?
  • [Any other relevant comment is welcome.]

Part II - The Emergence of Hell, Purgatory and Paradise

1. The Last Judgment as time of Reward, Revenge and Mercy (Book of the Parables and John the Baptist.

2. Jesus and the Afterlife

3. Paul and the Afterlife

4. The Identification of Justification and Salvation in later Christian thought (eternal life in Christ

5. The Rabbinic view of a balance between Mercy and Justice (Testament of Abraham, Mishnah, Tosefta)

6. Mortal and non-Mortal Sins: The emergence of the idea of Purgatory

7. Inferno, purgatory and Paradise as places of Punishment, Expiation and Reward. Their legacy in Literature and the Arts.

- Student's reports (6 meetings)

Afterlife Movies (Final oral presentation and final paper

[WARNING: As with all products of the past, movies are not immune to the racial, gender and social prejudices of their age. You may find some of them disturbing or inappropriate due to their graphic or sexual content. In a university setting, we look at them critically as historical evidence of how representations of the afterlife have evolved over the years.]

  • # Outward Bound (Robert Milton, 1930) -- Henry and Ann, a pair of young lovers, are planning to commit suicide and are worried about what will happen to their dog when they are gone. The scene then changes to a disparate group of passengers who find themselves aboard a darkened, fog-enshrouded crewless ship, sailing to an unknown destination. In time, the passengers slowly realize what is going on—they are all dead. They will be judged during the course of the voyage, and go either to Heaven, or to Hell. Arriving at their destination, they await judgment by Thompson, the "examiner." <A remake of the film was made in 1944 (Between Two Worlds)>
  • ## The Dybbuk; or, Between Two Worlds <Yiddish> (Michał Waszyński, 1937) -- Based on a 1914 play by S. Ansky, the film relates the story of a young bride possessed by a dybbuk – a malicious possessing spirit, believed to be the dislocated soul of a dead person – on the eve of her wedding. Filmed on location in Kazimierz Dolny, Poland, and in Feniks Film Studio in Warsaw, the Dybbuk is considered a seminal play in the history of Jewish theatre, and played an important role in the development of Yiddish theatre. <A> [D]
  • Here Comes Mr. Jordan (Alexander Hall, 1941) -- Boxer Joe Pendleton dies 50 years too soon due to a heavenly mistake, and is given a new life as a millionaire playboy. A remake of the film was made in 1978 (Heaven Can Wait). <A> [D]
  • Heaven Can Wait (Ernst Lubitsch, 1943) -- An old roué arrives in Hades to review his life with Satan, who will rule on his eligibility to enter the Underworld. This movie is something of a screwball comedy.
  • # A Guy Named Joe (Victor Fleming, 1943) -- A dead World War II bomber pilot, Pete Sandidge becomes the guardian angel of another pilot, Ted Randall. He guides Ted through battle and helping him to romance his old girlfriend, despite her excessive devotion to Sandidge's memory. A remake of the film was made in 1989 by Steven Spielberg (Always). [D]
    • Heaven Can Wait (1978) -- A Los Angeles Rams quarterback, accidentally taken away from his body by an overanxious angel before he was meant to die, returns to life in the body of a recently murdered millionaire.
  • ## Beetlejuice (Tim Burton, 1988) -- After Barbara (Geena Davis) and Adam Maitland (Alec Baldwin) die in a car accident, they find themselves stuck haunting their country residence, unable to leave the house. When the unbearable Deetzes (Catherine O'Hara, Jeffrey Jones) and teen daughter Lydia (Winona Ryder) buy the home, the Maitlands attempt to scare them away without success. Their efforts attract Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton), a rambunctious spirit whose "help" quickly becomes dangerous for the Maitlands and innocent Lydia.
  • # All Dogs Go to Heaven (Don Bluth, 1989) -- This animated film is about a German Shepherd (voiced by Burt Reynolds) who returns to Earth after death. He sets out to exact vengeance on his killer, but his plans change when he meets a young girl.
  • ## Always (Steve Spielberg, 1989) -- Always is a remake of the 1943 romantic drama A Guy Named Joe set during World War II. The main departure from the 1943 film is the changing of the setting from wartime to a modern aerial firefighting operation. The film, however, follows the same basic plot line: the spirit of a recently dead expert pilot mentors a newer pilot, while watching him fall in love with the girlfriend he left behind. [D]
  • ## [ Field of Dreams] ( Phil Alden Robinson , 1989) -- Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella is inspired by a voice he can't ignore to pursue a dream he can hardly believe. Supported by his wife, Ray begins the quest by turning his ordinary cornfield into a baseball field. Once built, deceased baseball players return from the afterlife to play their favorite game.
  • # Flatliners (Joel Schumacher, 1990) -- Five medical students participate in near-death experiences in this intense movie, just to discover that experimenting with death is never a good idea. <A remake of the film was made in 2017.>
  • ## Defending Your Life (Albert Brooks, 1991) -- Daniel Miller (Albert Brooks) isn't having a good week. For starters, he died after he got hit by a bus. Then he discovers that in the afterlife he must defend his actions on Earth in order to ascend to a higher plane of existence. While awaiting judgment, he falls in love with Julia (Meryl Streep), whose near-perfect life on Earth seemingly makes her a shoe-in for ascension. However, Daniel's actions in his lifetime might not be enough for him to move on.
  • ## What Dreams May Come (Vincent Ward, 1998) -- After Chris Nielsen (Robin Williams) dies in a car accident, he is guided through the afterlife by his spirit guide, Albert (Cuba Gooding Jr.). His new world is beautiful and can be whatever Chris imagines. Even his children are there. But, when his wife, Annie (Annabella Sciorra), commits suicide and is sent to hell, Chris ignores Albert's warnings and journeys there to save her. Upon arrival, Chris finds that rescuing Annie will be more difficult than he'd imagined.
  • ### The Sixth Sense (M. Night Shyamalan, 1999) -- Young Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) is haunted by a dark secret: he is visited by ghosts. Cole is frightened by visitations from those with unresolved problems who appear from the shadows. He is too afraid to tell anyone about his anguish, except child psychologist Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis). As Dr. Crowe tries to uncover the truth about Cole's supernatural abilities, the consequences for client and therapist are a jolt that awakens them both to something unexplainable.
  • ## The Others (Alejandro Amenábar, 2001) -- Grace (Nicole Kidman), the devoutly religious mother of Anne (Alakina Mann) and Nicholas (James Bentley), moves her family to the English coast during World War II. She awaits word on her missing husband while protecting her children from a rare photosensitivity disease that causes the sun to harm them. Anne claims she sees ghosts, Grace initially thinks the new servants are playing tricks but chilling events and visions make her believe something supernatural has occurred.
  • # [ The Five People You Meet in Heaven] (Lloyd Kramer, 2004) -- An elderly amusement park maintenance man, Eddie, is trapped in purgatory and the only way out is to confront five people from his past. Unfortunately, dark secrets from his service in the Philippines begin to haunt him.
  • Wristcutters: A Love Story (Goran Dukic, 2006) -- A film set in a strange afterlife way station that has been reserved for people who have committed suicide.
  • For One More Day] (Lloyd Kramer, 2007) -- Based on the Mitch Albom's 2006 novel of the same name, the film is the story of a broken-down former baseball player, Charley Benetto (Imperioli), who is now divorced and estranged from his own daughter, on the verge of a suicide who gets to spend one more day with his estranged departed mother (Burstyn), whom he had blamed for leaving his father. Throughout the course of the movie, she takes him to various points in his life and he learns what actually was going on to get a truer picture of his life.
  • ## Ghost Town (David Koepp, 2008) -- The film sees Ricky Gervais star as Bertram Pincus, a dentist who dies for 7 minutes while undergoing an operation and is brought back to life. The only problem is now is can see ghosts everywhere he goes and they annoy him. Here the ghosts are stuck and unable to move on to heaven, due to their unfinished business. Pincus is the only one who can help them, and despite initially refusing he grows and decides to become less selfish and help others.
  • ## The Lovely Bones (Peter Jackson, 2009) -- Based on a book with the same title, the film tells the story of a 14-year-old girl, Susie Salmon (portrayed by Saoirse Ronan), after she is brutally murdered. From heaven she watches over her grief-stricken family (Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz) -- and her killer (Stanley Tucci). As she observes their daily lives, she must balance her thirst for revenge with her desire for her family to heal. Peter Jackson directed this 2009 film, which received both Oscar and BAFTA nominations for the supporting cast.
  • ## Charlie St. Cloud (Burr Steers, 2010) -- Charlie has the gift of being able to see dead people. This gift gives him solace since it enables him to interact with his dead brother. Charlie, played by Zac Efron, has to choose between this ability and new love
  • Hereafter (Clint Eastwood, 2010) -- A drama centered on three people - a blue-collar American, a French journalist and a London school boy - who are touched by death in different ways.
  • # Heaven Is for Real (Randall Wallace, 2014) -- This Christian film is about the real-life near-death experience of a four-year-old child. The movie stars Greg Kinnear.
  • ## Coco <animated> (Lee Unkrich, 2017) -- Coco presented an alternative view of the afterlife and threw the audience into the world of Mexican culture. The Mexican twist on the afterlife brought with it a unique set of rules and traditions, really seen in mainstream movies. The film sees a young boy in the Land of the Dead and must find his great-grandfather, who was a great singer. The film remains one of Pixar's most highly regarded movies and went on to win 2 Oscars.
  • # Flatliners (Joel Schumacher, 1990) -- Five medical students participate in near-death experiences in this intense movie, just to discover that experimenting with death is never a good idea. <A remake of the 1990 film with the same title.>
  • # Beautiful Accident (Taiwan, 2017), directed by Ho Wi Ding -- A single and career-driven lawyer is given a second chance in life following a fatal car crash. In the span of seven days, she finds herself taking on a new life where she assumes the role of a housewife, taking care of her architect husband and two children. <A remake of a 2015 South Korean film (Wonderful Nightmare).>

Questions to be addressed in the finalpaper

  • How is the Afterlife described?
  • How much is such description affected by gender, racial or social prejudices?
  • What is the ultimate destiny of the dead? Is any kind of judgment involved?
  • Is there any kind of intermediary stage between death and eternal life?
  • Could the dead go back to life? Temporarily? Thru reincarnation?
  • [Any additional comments are welcome!]

Grading Assignments

There will be two oral presentations in class (mid-term and final) and two short papers (mid-term and papers).

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