"Kein Antlitz in einem Sarg hat mir je gezeigt, daB der Eben-Verstorbene uns vermiBt. Das Gegenteil davon ist Uberdeutlich . . . Der Verstorbene UberlaBt mich der Erinnerung an meine Erlebnisse mit ihm . . . Er hingegen, der Verstorbene, hat inzwischen eine Erfahrung, die mir erst noch bevorsteht, und die sich nicht ver- mitteln laBt - es geschehe denn durch eine Offenbarung im Glauben. " Aus der Totenrede von Max Frisch fUr Peter Noll Die Ergebnisse einer kulturvergleichenden Analyse zu Sterben und Tod, die sich die 7. Internationale Fachkonferenz Ethnomedizin im April 1984 zur Aufgabe gemacht hatte, werden hier einer breiteren Offentlichkeit zuganglich. Die Beitrage konfrontieren uns mit einer tiberwaltigenden Ftille kultureller Zeugnisse tiber den Umgang mit Sterbenden und tiber die Symbolisierung des Todes. Ungeachtet der un- vermeidlichen Beschranktheit und Zufalligkeit der Auswahl, trotz der in der Sache liegenden Verfremdung wissenschaftlich-methodischer Dar- stellung ftihlt sich der Leser unmittelbar angesprochen, ja, gefes- selt durch die Intensitat, mit der zu allen Zeiten und in allen Kulturen Sterben und Tod kulturell gestaltet, symbolisch gedeutet und im mitmenschlichen Umgang erfahren wurde. DaB uns Menschen Ster- ben und Tod gemeinsam sind, daB jede Zeit, jede Kultur, aber auch jeder einzelne sich dieser anthropologisch gemeinsamen Situation stellen muB, sie ftir sich deuten und verarbeiten muB, dtirfte wohl auf keine andere Weise so sinnfallig und tiberzeugend hervortreten wie in dem hier vorgelegten Tagungsbericht.

In this exploration of how people lived and died in eighteenth- and nineteenth- century New Mexico, Martina Will de Chaparro weaves together the stories of individuals and communities in this cultural crossroads of the American Southwest. The wills and burial registers at the heart of this study provide insights into the variety of ways in which death was understood by New Mexicans living in a period of profound social and political transitions. This volume addresses the model of the good death that settlers and friars brought with them to New Mexico, challenges to the model's application, and the eventual erosion of the ideal. The text also considers the effects of public-health legislation that sought to protect the public welfare, as well as responses to these controversial and unpopular reforms. Will de Chaparro discusses both cultural continuity and regional adaptation, examining Spanish-American deathways in New Mexico during the colonial (approximately 1700-1821), Mexican (1821-1848), and early Territorial (1848-1880) periods.

What is suicide? When does suicide start and when does it end? Who is involved? Examining narratives of suicide through a discourse analytic framework, Discursive Constructions of the Suicidal Process demonstrates how linguistic theories and methodologies can help answer these questions and cast light upon what suicide involves and means, both for those who commit an act and their loved ones. Engaging in close analysis of suicide letters written before the act and post-hoc narratives from after the event, this book is the first qualitative study to view suicide not as a single event outside time, but as a time-extended process. Exploring how suicide is experienced and narrated from two temporal perspectives, Dariusz Galasinski and Justyna Ziolkowska introduce discourse analysis to the field of suicidology. Arguing that studying suicide narratives and the reality they represent can add significantly to our understanding of the process, and in particular its experiences and meanings, Discursive Constructions of the Suicidal Process demonstrates the value of discourse analytic insights in informing, enriching and contextualising our knowledge of suicide.

The global doubling of human life expectancy between 1850 and 1950 is arguably one of the most consequential developments in human history, undergirding massive improvements in human life and lifestyles. In 1850, Americans died at an average age of 30. Today, the average is almost 80. This story is typically told as a series of medical breakthroughs Jenner and vaccination, Lister and antisepsis, Snow and germ theory, Fleming and penicillin, but the lion's share of the credit belongs to the men and women who dedicated their lives to collecting good data. Examining the development of death registration systems in the United States-from the first mortality census in 1850 to the development of the death certificate at the turn of the century-Count the Dead argues that mortality data transformed life on Earth, proving critical to the systemization of public health, casualty reporting, and human rights. Stephen Berry shows how a network of coroners, court officials, and state and federal authorities developed methods to track and reveal patterns of dying. These officials harnessed these records to turn the collective dead into informants and in so doing allowed the dead to shape life and death as we know it today.

The global doubling of human life expectancy between 1850 and 1950 is arguably one of the most consequential developments in human history, undergirding massive improvements in human life and lifestyles. In 1850, Americans died at an average age of 30. Today, the average is almost 80. This story is typically told as a series of medical breakthroughs Jenner and vaccination, Lister and antisepsis, Snow and germ theory, Fleming and penicillin, but the lion's share of the credit belongs to the men and women who dedicated their lives to collecting good data. Examining the development of death registration systems in the United States-from the first mortality census in 1850 to the development of the death certificate at the turn of the century-Count the Dead argues that mortality data transformed life on Earth, proving critical to the systemization of public health, casualty reporting, and human rights. Stephen Berry shows how a network of coroners, court officials, and state and federal authorities developed methods to track and reveal patterns of dying. These officials harnessed these records to turn the collective dead into informants and in so doing allowed the dead to shape life and death as we know it today.

The New Death brings together scholars who are intrigued by today's rapidly changing death practices and attitudes. New and different ways of treating the body and memorializing the dead are proliferating across global cities. Using ethnographic, historical, and media-based approaches, the contributors to this volume focus on new attitudes and practices around mortality and mourning--from the possibilities of digitally enhanced afterlives to industrialized "necro-waste," the ethics of care, the meaning of secular rituals, and the political economy of death. Together, the chapters coalesce around the argument that there are two major currents running through the new death--reconfigurations of temporality and of intimacy. Pushing back against the folklorization endemic to anthropological studies of death practices and the whiteness of death studies as a field, the chapters strive to override divisions between the Global South and the Anglophone world, focusing instead on syncretization, globalization, and magic within the mundane.

This illuminating book examines how the public funerals of major figures from the Civil War era shaped public memories of the war and allowed a diverse set of people to contribute to changing American national identities. These funerals featured lengthy processions that sometimes crossed multiple state lines, burial ceremonies open to the public, and other cultural productions of commemoration such as oration and song. As Sarah J. Purcell reveals, Americans' participation in these funeral rites led to contemplation and contestation over the political and social meanings of the war and the roles played by the honored dead. Public mourning for military heroes, reformers, and politicians distilled political and social anxieties as the country coped with the aftermath of mass death and casualties. Purcell shows how large-scale funerals for figures such as Henry Clay and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson set patterns for mourning culture and Civil War commemoration; after 1865, public funerals for figures such as Robert E. Lee, Charles Sumner, Frederick Douglass, and Winnie Davis elaborated on these patterns and fostered public debate about the meanings of the war, Reconstruction, race, and gender.

In spite of society's wish to protect and insulate children from death, the experience of loss is unavoidable and there is surprisingly little guidance on how to help children cope with grief and bereavement. Never Too Young to Know: Death in Children's Lives is the first book to bring together diverse fields of study, offering a practical as well as multifaceted theoretical approach to how children cope with death. Using stories of children's own experiences supported by data from a large research study, Silverman explains the wide range of effects of loss upon children and the challenges they face as they grieve. Silverman presents grief as a normal part of the life cycle which results not only in pain and sadness but also in change and growth. She further explains that children can and do cope effectively with loss and the changes it brings as long as they are taught to understand that death is a part of life and that they will be included appropriately in the family drama. Never Too Young To Know: Death in Children's Lives is divided into three parts. The first section includes an overview and theoretical framework that examines the social, historical, developmental, and familial forces that frame and focus childrens lives as they experience loss. The second section offers a detailed analysis of how children experience mourning different types of death including the death of siblings, parents, and friends, and death due to illness, suicide, accidents, and violence. The final section includes an accessible guide to helping children cope with grief, emphasizing the importance and the necessity of social support as children learn to adapt to their new lives. Never Too Young To Know: Death in Children's Lives is not only ideal for advanced undergraduate and graduate students learning about children but it is also useful for courses on death and dying and the family. It is also an invaluable book for mental health practitioners, clergy, school teachers, nurses, pediatricians, as well as the general reader interested in learning how to deal with death in children's lives.