The Death Deck: Discussing death in the classroom

Abstract

Having conversations about death and dying can be very difficult to initiate and engage in with others. The following activity, based on the card game The Death Deck, was designed to encourage students to engage with others about difficult conversations surrounding death and dying. The activity provides students with questions and prompts that promote critical thinking about death and the end of life. This activity also seeks to promote engagement in death and end-of-life conversations outside of the classroom.

Courses

Family Communication, Interpersonal Communication, Communication Among Cultures, and End of Life and Grief Communication.

Objectives

By playing this game in small groups with classmates, students will be introduced to different questions and decisions surrounding death and the end of life. Engaging in this game aims to create a way for students to enter a conversation about a difficult topic through humorous yet critical-thinking prompts. The aim is to help students think more in depth about death and the end of life, as well as identify and understand some of the benefits and challenges that accompany discussing this topic. Overall, the primary learning objective of this activity it to increase student discussion and thinking about death and how to engage in these conversations with others.