Monday October 27, 2025 | VICTORIA, BC [Posted at 6:37 pm]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
A 200-level college course on the Anthropology of Death is always full to capacity.
For 80 minutes twice a week over 14 weeks, 40 Camosun College students explore customs and values around death across many cultures — past and current day.
Course instructor Nicole Kilburn is an anthropologist who has been teaching at Camosun for 23 years. She created the Anthropology of Death course in 2018 and it’s been a consistent hit every year since.
The only prerequisite for the course is a level-100 English course. So class composition varies from year to year, this year seeing a lot of business and pre-social work students.
Values and customs:
Society’s values around death over the centuries are explored across cultures including Nordic, Celtic and in Peru, China and Cambodia.
In North America many families choose burial or cremation. They may hold a funeral or a celebration of life. Where there is a broader community impact there may be a procession.
A significant business sector has built up around death including funeral homes, venue rental, catering services and published obituaries.
Some current shifts in death management are explored such as the sociocultural impact in South Korea which since 2000 has charged a 60-year lease for a burial plot (which has spurred a shift to cremation).
The course examines the similarities and differences in conceptions of the human body, death, and death rites in time and space, and considers oen’s own cultural practices in a cross-cultural perspective.
Course assignments include creation of a fantasy map of the afterlife and a tour of Ross Bay Cemetery in Fairfield. The course is AI-proof, says Kilburn.
Aging population:
As the older demographic of Canadian society increases (as baby boom generation gets past age 75), there will be more awareness of death and dying, says Kilburn.
This leads to people exploring their own mortality or thinking about loved ones differently.
Being present for the conversation:
“Death is a community issue but it’s not talked about. The denial piece catches up with us,” said Kilman.
In a society where families split apart and change their composition, oftentimes people are not invited to be part of the community grieving process, such as funerals or a celebration of life for an ex-partner or in-laws. Even caregivers at the end of life may wish to attend but are often not invited. That can be traumatizing.
The course can empower students with tools to be in touch with their own emotions and perhaps be leaders when situations arise that require being present in conversations or situations around death.
Association with Halloween:
The course-wrapup Capstone Project for students in the Anthropology of Death class has in recent years been held at the Royal BC Museum around Halloween.
The connection with Halloween is a natural. Commenting on Halloween costumes: “Giant skeletons are growing in popularity, says forensic anthropology instructor Dr Katie Waterhouse. “As anthropoligists, we love to explore the fascination with representations of the undead — like vampires, zombies and skeletons — and may give us the chance to confront our own skeletons in the closet.”
At Craigdarroch Castle his year:
The recent long BC Government workers strike mean that the Royal BC Museum venue was not available this year.
Ao there’s been a shift in timeline and location.
For the Fall 2025 Anthropology of Death capstone the venue will be at Craigdarroch Castle, 1050 Joan Crescent, Victoria on Saturday November 29.
The public is welcome to drop by, from 1 to 3 pm.
Admission:
Admission to the Anthrology of Death Capstone Projec is included in the cost of admission to Craigdarroch Castle.
- Adults – $22.50
- Seniors (65+) – $19.60
- Post-secondary students (18 + with Valid ID) – $18.50
- Youth (12-17) – $15.00
- Children (4-11) – $10.00
- Children 3 and under are free when accompanied by a paying adult
Parking is free at Craigdarroch Castle.
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