A re-imagining of the popular Freshman Seminar “Endings, Before and After,” this course explores the complexities of our relationship to endings and the ways that the tools and insights from a variety of disciplines—from philosophy and theology to psychology and sociology—might help us form new perspectives on the end of things. It is also designed to augment the Princeton University Concerts 2025-26 Music & Healing series, which will center on how music helps us navigate endings—shaping artistic memory, offering solace in times of loss, and sustaining cultural heritage.
We start by asking the fundamental question of how we know when something is over, considering theological and philosophical conceptions of endings. Who has authority to declare the end of a political dynasty, artistic movement, global pandemic, cultural trend, your childhood? Even when some “official” definition exists for endings—recessions, wars, human life itself—questions can still linger as to whether it’s really over.
We use our individual experiences as a guide, along with disciplinary tools from economics, public health, art, military strategy, and other fields. We look at the psychological underpinnings of our resistance to endings and also consider the sociological implications of our current approaches.
We will learn from actors as diverse as mountain climbers, Trappist monks, Broadway producers, death doulas, and those tackling America’s “digital divide” to illustrate endings that were unexpected, how some could have been anticipated, and when a new approach could have led to more optimal outcomes. We even look at cases in which finales were anticipated but never came—failed apocalyptic prophecies and death row reprieves—to reflect on the ways that belief and identity further complicate our relationship with the end. While the scope is broad and all types of endings will be on the table, human mortality will no doubt come into the conversation. Across the weeks we will touch on loss and grief but also legacy and opportunity.
Endings happen, even if we may not want them to. This seminar will help students unpack what endings signify and in what contexts reframing could be beneficial. The class will come to a close with students having considered how to look at endings in a more nuanced way and how this embrace may lead to time better spent before the end comes.
Schedule: October 7, 21, November 4, 18, 2025, Tuesday's
Related Concerts: Community auditors registered in the Finales and Codas: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Endings Auditor Only course will receive a discount code to purchase tickets for the Princeton University Concerts Music & Healing Programs related to the theme of endings on October 8, 2025; December 3, 2025; March 26, 2026; and April 29, 2026. Learn more
October 8, 2025, 7:30 PM W – Choreographer Mark Morris, “The Dance Lives On: Contemplating Artistic Legacy”
December 3, 2025, 7:30 PM W – Director Peter Sellars, “Mourning Through Music”
March 26, 2026, 7:30 PM TH - Violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja, “Dies Irae”
April 29, 2026, 7:30 PM W - Violinist Lisa Batiashvili, “Sounding Defiance: Georgia & Ukraine”