The Global Studies Seminar at Denison presents “Shopping for Death: The Iconography of Mercedes Benz in Singaporean Funeral Rites,” by Ruth Toulson, visiting assistant professor of anthropology, at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, March 29, at the Shepardson Room of Slayter Hall (200 Ridge Road). The lecture is free and open to the public.

Toulson attended funerals in Singapore and was struck by the uniformity of what the dead supposedly desire; in the afterlife, every house had a garden, air-conditioning and a Filipina maid; every wallet contained an American Express card, and every car was a Mercedes Benz. The objects were those most beyond the reach of the living. Toulson examines the purpose of this shared world of impossible desire.

Calendar Listing:

CALENDAR LISTING: Denison University, Granville — The Global Studies Seminar at Denison presents “Shopping for Death: The Iconography of Mercedes Benz in Singaporean Funeral Rites,” by Ruth Toulson, visiting assistant professor of anthropology, at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, March 29, at the Shepardson Room of Slayter Hall (200 Ridge Road). Free and open to the public.

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

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