Stephen P. Broker
The Macy Honors Anatomy & Physiology course has been developed by me over the past ten years to include a study of the structure and function of the human body using patient simulations, comparative anatomy, dissection, and current events.3 I am introducing a section on death and dying to this course with the use of this unit. Further development of this unit to include a study of epidemic disease in colonial America also will have direct application to the Macy curriculum. The AP Environmental Science (APES) course follows a curriculum produced by The College Board/Advanced Placement Program.4 Human population issues presented in this unit relate to the major topic of "Human Population Dynamics" in the APES curriculum.
The objectives of the unit are to:
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1. Involve students in a program of research on life (and death) in colonial New England, which will contribute to our understanding of the New England Puritan's worldview and relation with death.
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2. Study human population dynamics of the colonial period, including such demographic factors as birth and death rates, survivorship and life expectancy, and age structure, including ages of greatest vulnerability to dying in Puritan New England.
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3. Use such primary sources as colonial American burying grounds and gravestones in gaining insights into everyday life in colonial America.
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4. Investigate such primary sources as sermons and diaries of seventeenth and eighteenth century New England.
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5. Prepare for further investigative work on epidemic disease in colonial New England.
