A WILL FOR THE WOODS Film Screening and Discussion, March 9, 2015, 5:30 pm
The Nickelodeon, Columbia, S.C.

Directors: Amy Browne, Tony Hale, Jeremy Kaplan, and Brian Wilson

Musician. Psychiatrist. Folk dancer. Clark Wang defies easy categorization. That he should turn a fatal cancer diagnosis into an opportunity to preserve the natural environment in and around his North Carolina home is not altogether surprising. Determined that his last act will be a gift to the planet, a man prepares for his own green burial.

Joining us for a post-film discussion will be:

Konstantin Pollok is Associate Professor of Philosophy at USC. He holds two doctoral degrees from Marburg University, Germany. His research focus is on early modern philosophy, with an emphasis on moral issues related to Immanuel Kant’s ethics. His current book project on Kant’s Theory of Normativity: Exploring the Space of Reason is under contract with Cambridge University Press. He was co-organizer of the Three Rivers Conference on “Death: The Reality of an Idea” (USC, Columbia, 2013), as well as the Inaugural Conference of the International Association for the Philosophy of Death and Dying (CSPU, Pomona, 2014).

Wayne M Phillips is retired from a 38-year career in medical social work. He holds a B.A. degree in Sociology/Psychology from Indiana State University and a Masters Degree in Social Work fromTulane University. He did clinical social work, and then was District Director of Social Work for the South Carolina Dept. of Health & Environmental Control. After 17 years in Public Health, he became employed at Palmetto Health hospital system where he worked in both Home Health and Hospice programs for 15 years. His last employment at Hospice Care of Tri County was working with patients and families dealing with end-of-life issues.  He is married and has a son, daughter-in-law and 3 grandchildren in Iowa.

Gere B. Fulton has been a volunteer with the Funeral Consumers Alliance for more than 35 years, first with the affiliate in Northwest Ohio and, since 2000 with the FCA of South Carolina.  He has also served two terms on the National Board of Directors, the last two years of which as President.  He currently serves as president of the Board of Directors of the Funeral Consumers Alliance of South Carolina.  Gere has a Ph. D. in Public Health from the University of Maryland and J.D. from the University of Toledo College of Law.  Upon moving to Columbia he received an appointment as a Professor of Clinical Internal Medicine at the USC School of Medicine and also served as a member of the core faculty in the Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities.  He has taught courses in law, ethics, and public health and is the lead author of a college textbook, Perspectives on Death and Dying.  He has also published widely in newspapers and periodical literature.