Thanatology 2200 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Lee Boyd Malvo, John Allen Muhammad, D.C. Sniper Attacks
2 Oct 2016
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Chapter 4: death-related practices & the american death system. Kastenbaum"s definition (1972): the sociophysical network by which we mediate & express our relationship to mortality. Every society establishes a system to cope with the challenges that death brings to human existence: society interprets death for its citizens. People: funeral directors, lawyers, medical examiners, florists. Places: cemeteries, funeral homes, hallowed ground, health care institutions. Symbols: skull & crossbones, black armbands, ashes to ashes, dust to dust . To give warnings & predictions: sirens, flashing lights, media weather alerts. To prevent death: police & security officers, emergency medical care systems, dept. of homeland. To care for the dying: hospice, hospitals. To dispose of the dead: cemeteries, crematories. To work toward social consolidation: funeral rituals, bereavement support groups. To help make sense of death: religious, spiritual, & philosophical programs. To bring about socially-sanctioned death: war, capital punishment, slaughtering of livestock. The american death system & september 11, 2001:
