Death Studies

From the Mortician's Scalpel to the Butcher's Knife: Towards an Animal Thanatology

by Sarah Bezan

Published in the Journal for Critical Animal Studies 10.1 (2012).

Proceeding from Judith Butler’s evocative suggestion that unsettling the matter of bodies initiates “new ways for... more Proceeding from Judith Butler’s evocative suggestion that unsettling the matter of bodies initiates “new ways for bodies to matter” (Bodies That Matter), this paper investigates the material reality and ethical implications of animal and human death, taking the corpse/carcass as a dramatic site of rupture.  While a number of anthropocentric projects from Linnaeus to Descartes have attempted to consolidate the matter of animal-human relations into a cohesive epistemology that emphasizes the alterity of animality, this study regards Death itself as the ultimate Other, and suggests that it is upon the recognition of our shared mortality that an ethical foundation is formed.

Through an examination of the history of veterinary medicine, the carnivalesque corpse and the practice of public dissection, along with an analysis of artistic productions by Janieta Eyre, Damien Hirst, and Gunther Von Hagen (Body Worlds), I argue that the ontological “unsettling” of the corpse/carcass opens up a productive space in which the plurality of being is understood.

Chapple, R. M. 2012 Workingman’s Dead: Notes on some 17th to 19th century memorials, from the graveyards of Killora and Killogilleen, Craughwell, Co. Galway, Ireland. Part I Blogspot post

by Robert M Chapple

Décapitations: du culte des crânes au cinéma gore

by antonio dominguez leiva

La violencia y lo macabro en la joven cuentística de los noventa

by antonio dominguez leiva

Les motifs de la décapitation dans l'art et la littérature d'Occident: du legs médiéval à la post-modernité:(une archéologie du supplice et du macabre), 1450 …

by antonio dominguez leiva

Les motifs de la décapitation dans l'art et la littérature d'Occident

by antonio dominguez leiva

La comédie de Charleroi: modernismo macabro y fascismo

by antonio dominguez leiva

Photography and the Taboo of Death

by CM Brosteanu

"Artists' interest in mortality can be seen in work from Hans Holbein's 16th-century The Ambassadors, in which a... more "Artists' interest in mortality can be seen in work from Hans Holbein's 16th-century The Ambassadors, in which a skewed skull comments on the vanity of the sitters, to Damien Hirst's recent diamond encrusted skull.

In ‘Self Portrait as a Drowned Man’, Hippolyte Bayard for instance theatrically staged his own death as early as 1840. Bayard’s fascination with his own death reflects a fetishist attitude towards death photographers have explored ever since."

"Empfange und Du wirst einen Sohn gebären, welcher der Herrscher über die Erde werden wird..." Vorstellungen über Geburt und Tod Tschinggis Khans

by Johannes Steiner

published in: Chronica. Annual of the Institute of Szeged, 2007-2008; Vol. 7-8, p. 220-232.

Weder von Tschinggis Khans Tod, noch von seiner Geburt haben wir genaue Informationen, und wo wir Nachrichten darüber... more Weder von Tschinggis Khans Tod, noch von seiner Geburt haben wir genaue Informationen, und wo wir Nachrichten darüber besitzen, sind diese oft widersprüchlich. Exakte Umstände, Ort und Zeit liegen im spekulativen Dunklen.
Dies hatte, was Geburt und Tod Tschinggis Khans betrifft, grundverschiedene Ursachen. Letztlich führen die unterschiedlichen Gründe zum gleichen Ergebnis, nämlich zur Entstehung von Legenden. Es ist eine mythische Vorstellung, dass sowohl der Ein- als auch der Austritt einer als außergewöhnlich empfundenen Person in die Welt von Zeichen begleitet ist, dass etwas nicht Alltägliches vor sich geht. Wir können mit Sicherheit davon ausgehen, dass man zur Geburtsstunde Temüdschins, des späteren Tschinggis Khans, keineswegs wusste, wie wichtig der Säugling einst werden sollte. Von seiner Geburt wird berichtet, dass er einen Blutklumpen so groß wie ein Spielknöchel bzw. so fest wie ein roter Stein in der Faust gehalten habe. Andere Autoren erzählen von einer mit Wundern verbundenen Geburt und merkwürdigen Zeichen, erläutern diese jedoch nicht näher. Sogar von einer übernatürlichen Zeugung Temüdschins ist die Rede.
Über den Tod Tschinggis Khans herrscht in der Überlieferung entweder Stillschweigen oder ein heilloses Durcheinander. Ob Ort des Todes oder der Bestattung, Zeitpunkt und Grund seines Ablebens – wir stehen vor einem Rätsel. Unterschiedliche Angaben in den Quellen zeugen von einer Unwissenheit, welche sich in Legenden manifestierte.

For Gabe and Ari

by Rebecca Sachs Norris

In The Patient’s Voice: Experiences of Illness, Jeanine Young-Mason, ed., Philadelphia: F. A. Davis C., 1997.

With a Steady Eye

by Rebecca Sachs Norris

In Parabola, Vol. 27, No. 2, Summer 2002.

many of my articles

by Raphael Cohen-almagor

political science

INTRODUCTION TO SANTA MUERTE - a critical description through faith, politics, and marketing

by Laura Merlo

Translation of my Bachelor thesis, which I wrote at the end of my three years study period at Bologna University.

Who is Santa Muerte? Who are her devotees? Is she narco's goddess? A critical analisys which aims to describe, with a... more Who is Santa Muerte? Who are her devotees? Is she narco's goddess? A critical analisys which aims to describe, with a critical point of view, a recent phenomenon which is hardly understandable and is highly differentiated, more than one might be prone to think.

A Passing Glance: Encounters with Deadness and Dying

by Sylwia Chrostowska

published in Beauty and the Abject (Peter Lang)

Remembrance Article

by Lewis Stockwell

Published in 'Trench Footnotes', the Journal of the Hertfordshire Constabulary Great War Society, (Dec, 2011).

Remembrance is a part of many people's lives and cultures yet it is very often just accepted. This paper forms a part... more Remembrance is a part of many people's lives and cultures yet it is very often just accepted. This paper forms a part of a wider project that is intending to decipher the 'code of remembrance': the acts that form the commemoration process and place activities into a cultural tradition. This is a brief insight into the vast array of areas covered by the ideas and concepts of 'Remembrance'.

Where do Cats Go?: Reflections on Death Post Patriarchal Christianity by Sara Frykenberg

by Feminism and Religion

originally posted in the Feminism and Religion Project

The reason I am speaking about death today is two-fold.  First, I have been somewhat preoccupied with the concept... more The reason I am speaking about death today is two-fold.  First, I have been somewhat preoccupied with the concept of death since entering a new decade of my life.  I no longer believe in the evangelical vision of heaven I learned about in my youth; but as an uncomfortable “un”-Christian, I also have no satisfactory vision to replace it.  Or rather, there are many visions I find appealing, but none that I “believe in,” as I had believed in heaven.  My family is getting older, my parents have been sick in the last few years, and I often feel that I have more to lose now than I used to.

My second reason for considering death today is that last Wednesday, Mimi, our family cat of 24 years—yes, 24—passed away.  After spending all nine of her lives living, Mimi could no longer eat and was suffering.  My mother had her put down after we all said goodbye; we held a funeral for her and buried her among the lilies in our yard, her home.

My sisters and myself were very, very saddened by Mimi’s passing; but my mother took it hardest of all.  Mimi had been her companion, her friend, her lap warmer, her snuggle buddy, her alarm clock and, we often joked, her favorite child for over two decades.  I wanted to comfort my mother; but my protest that it didn’t matter what the (her) Church said, Mimi was with the God/dess, was maybe, not very helpful.  It perhaps, only reminded her that in her view, I too am not going to heaven.

Psychometric Properties of the Death Anxiety Scale (DAS) Among Terminally Ill Cancer Patients

by Kenneth Royal

Royal, K. D., & Elahi, F. (2011). Psychometric Properties of the Death Anxiety Scale (DAS) Among Terminally Ill Cancer Patients. Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, 29(4), 359-371.

Research conducted with the terminally ill population in relation to death anxiety is rare and mostly outdated. The... more Research conducted with the terminally ill population in relation to death anxiety is rare and mostly outdated. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the widely used Death Anxiety Scale (DAS) on a sample of terminal cancer patients. Additionally, validation studies of the DAS have exclusively used traditional statistical methods for analysis. The current study utilized an item response theory technique (IRT), namely the Rasch Rating Scale model for data analysis. The methodology employed may be useful for other researchers conducting validation studies from an IRT perspective.

Skulls, Max Ernst & Benjamin Peret

by Hadrien Rambach

Danses Macabres d'Europe. Bulletin no. 44, January 2012, pp. 20-21

Short study of the book "Je Sublime" by Benjamin Peret (Paris 1936), illustrated with skulls by Max Ernst... Short study of the book "Je Sublime" by Benjamin Peret (Paris 1936), illustrated with skulls by Max Ernst (1891-1976).

Exposer le cadavre de l'ennemi

by Hadrien Rambach

Danses Macabres d'Europe. Bulletin no. 44, January 2012, p. 20

Report of the recent sale of four skulls, apparently displayed in Prague 1621-1848. Report of the recent sale of four skulls, apparently displayed in Prague 1621-1848.

Algunas reflexiones en torno a los estudios que tratan el tema de la muerte en la literatura griega

by Guillermo González Campos

Este artículo presenta un recorrido por los diversos estudios que abordan el tema de la muerte en la literatura griega... more Este artículo presenta un recorrido por los diversos estudios que abordan el tema de la muerte en la literatura griega arcaica. El objetivo es develar cuáles son los principios fundamentales a partir de los cuáles se ha llevado a cabo el abordaje de la muerte en este periodo. Se concluye que la mayoría de los estudios se han centrado en aspectos culturales y formales. Es necesario, por lo tanto, realizar un acercamiento crítico que explique cómo se constituyó y fijó el sentido de la muerte en la Grecia arcaica.

Some reflections on studies about the theme of death in Greek literature

This article provides an overview of the various studies that deal with the topic of the death in ancient Greek literature. The aim is to show the fundamental principles that are used to tackling the death topic in this period. The paper concludes that most studies have focused on cultural and formal aspects; nevertheless, it is necessary a critical approach to explain how the sense of death in ancient Greece was formed and established.