Christian Seiter, CSUF assistant professor of human communication studies
News — Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and other public health crises, death anxiety in the United States has significantly increased.
, assistant professor of human communication studies at Cal State Fullerton, analyzes how different emotions — such as worry and humor — impact people’s willingness to confront their mortality.
Seiter is researching how different levels of humor in podcasts impact a listener’s ability to have conversations about death and explore different end-of-life precautions. Seiter also encourages people to talk openly about death and learn more about advance care directives.
For example, earlier research in the end-of-life communication field indicates that profanity has helped younger people open up to difficult conversations about last wishes and advance care.
Seiter said: “Humor has the ability to make conversations about death more accessible for everybody.
“I think it’s important for us to step into places of constructive discomfort.
“Especially with COVID-19, we’ve all been living with death very intimately for several years and giving people an avenue to talk about it is a really valuable thing.”
Read more at .
About Cal State Fullerton: The largest university in the CSU and the only campus in Orange County, Cal State Fullerton offers 110 degree programs and Division 1 athletics. Recognized as a national model for supporting student success, CSUF excels with innovative, high-impact educational practices, including faculty-student collaborative research, study abroad and competitive internships. Our vibrant and diverse campus is a primary driver of workforce and economic development in the region. CSUF is a top public university known for its success in supporting first-generation and underrepresented students, and preparing all students to become leaders in the global marketplace. Our , a five-year $250 million comprehensive fundraising initiative, prioritizes investments in academic innovation, student empowerment, campus transformation and community enrichment. Visit .
# # #
RSS