Journalism professor Stephen Bates' class is using an interesting source as a study guide: the preserved human bodies at a Las Vegas tourist attraction.
Bates' course, Morality, Mortality, and Formality: Gazing at the Dead, explores the history of cadaver and dissection displays from the mid-18th century to today's Bodies exhibit at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino. The traveling exhibit, one of five around the world, showcases human cadavers that have been dissected and preserved.
The Gazing at the Dead course examines cultural attitudes about viewing the dead and how the press covers this surprisingly popular form of entertainment. The exhibits have drawn critics who question the ethics of the displays, while supporters say the exhibits offer powerful lessons in anatomy and the effects of poor health choices.
Before embalming, the bodies of the dead were washed and prepared for burial at home, Bates notes. The process moved to hospitals and funeral homes starting in the late 19th century. "Death has been distanced from us," he says. "The Bodies exhibit is a small step toward re-familiarizing ourselves with it."
Bates admits that the topic did not initially draw his attention. He saw Bodies only at the urging of his 17-year-old daughter.
"It wasn't something that I had ever written about before," Bates says. "But as a teacher it can be fun to explore something that you don't know by heart with students. That way you can learn from one another."
Increasingly, the School of Journalism and Media Studies is capitalizing on Las Vegas's location for research, says Director Ardyth Broaderick Sohn. Professors are exploring topics ranging from visual communication (think billboards) to how religion in Las Vegas affects entertainment media. "I see this as an exciting and natural agenda for the school," Sohn says. "We have a wonderful field site in our backyard that just can't be ignored any longer."
The class has drawn an eclectic mix of students, including a law professor and an anthropologist as well as graduate students in journalism.
Journalism is not the only unit on campus to use Bodies as a textbook. Exhibit organizers are offering internship opportunities to UNLV students interested in health professions. The interns will enhance their knowledge of anatomy as exhibit docents.
