EXP-0038-F: The Psychological and Spiritual Dimensions of Grief
1.0 credit, Letter Grading
Thursday, 6:30-9:00 pm
Can the manner in which we grieve affect the way we live after the loss of a loved one?

In this course, we will consider grief as a complex emotional process: one that is not just about mourning a death but also about recognizing that loss, change, and transition are an inescapable part of life. We will examine the psychology of grief from historical and contemporary perspectives, and explore how spiritual struggles can affect grief, including our images of God. Using songs, movies, and TV shows we investigate the many ways grief impacts our life, paying special attention to childhood grief. Finally, we'll explore modern ways of dealing with death including green funerals and death cafés.

View course syllabus

Instructor: Cheryl Amari is the founder of GriefTeach, a grief education and consulting services. As a grief educator, Cheryl creates and facilitates programs for all types of loss. Previously, she worked as an instructor at a mortuary college teaching The Psychology of Grief. Her educational background includes a Master's degree in Pastoral Ministry from Boston College, and Cheryl is also certified in thanatology from the Association for Death Education and Counseling.

Zachary Cole has joined the University Chaplaincy as Program and Outreach Specialist. Cole comes to Tufts from related posts at the Humanist Community at Harvard and the Harvard Divinity School Office of Student Life. He received a B.A. in Religious Studies and Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an M.A. in Higher Education Administration from Boston College. Cole will implement high-level programming and outreach initiatives for the University Chaplaincy, including conferences, orientation programs, and initiatives around dialogue, activism, and values. He will also be responsible for building the University Chaplaincy’s relationships and partnerships across all of Tufts’ campuses and with external community partners. 

Walker Bristol A14 has joined the University Chaplaincy as Humanist in Residence. Bristol graduated from Tufts in May 2014 with a B.A. in Religion and Philosophy, and he will be a Master of Divinity candidate at Harvard Divinity School starting this fall. He has also worked at the Humanist Community at Harvard, the blog NonProphet Status, and the Foundation Beyond Belief, and he volunteers at the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center. While at Tufts, he was engaged as a leader in the Freethought Society and various campus activism movements for social justice. The Humanist in Residence is a new, two-year pilot position designed to assess the desires for and benefits of designated chaplaincy support for Humanists, Atheists, Agnostics, the Nonreligious, and the Spiritual but Not Religious. It is the first university-funded Humanist chaplaincy position in the United States.

Celene Ibrahim-Lizzio has joined the University Chaplaincy as Muslim Chaplain, after having served as Tufts' Temporary Muslim Chaplain for Ramadan in July 2014. Ibrahim-Lizzio is also Muslim Scholar in Residence and Co-Director of the Center for Inter-Religious and Communal Leadership Education (CIRCLE) at Andover Newton Theological School and Hebrew College. She received an A.B. in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University and a Master of Divinity degree from Harvard Divinity School, and she is currently a candidate for the Ph.D. in Arabic and Islamic Civilizations at Brandeis University. She has previously served as Lecturer in Islamic Studies at Episcopal Divinity School and an Associate in the Center for the Study of Jewish-Christian-Muslim Relations at Merrimack College. She teaches, writes, and lectures around the world on Islamic law and Qur'anic studies, Islam in America, interfaith relations, and gender and sexuality studies. 

Chanta Bhan has joined the University Chaplaincy as Protestant Chaplain. Bhan received an A.B. in Asian and Middle Eastern Languages and Literatures from Columbia University and Master of Theological Studies and Master of Divinity degrees from Harvard Divinity School. She has worked as a hospice chaplain for seven years and previously worked as Protestant Chaplain at Babson College. She is also the founding director of the multicultural consulting firm Global Compass, serves as vice chair of the Cambridge Human Rights Commission, and has been engaged in numerous international humanitarian efforts in Pakistan and other countries. She has been involved and worked with several Protestant denominations and congregations and is currently a member and leader at St. James's Episcopal Church in Porter Square.