The Many Ways We Talk About Death In Contemporary Society

An interdisciplinary work that examines the representation of death in traditional and 'new' media, explores the meaning of assassination and suicide in a post 9/11 context, and grapples with the use of legal and medical tools that affect the quest for a 'good death'.

Death has been deemed the “great equalizer,” but each journey towards our shared, ultimate fate is unique. The length of our lives, the quality of our last days, how our deaths are perceived by others, and the handling of our remains are governed by nature and many socio-cultural factors. Unequal Before Death is an edited collection that addresses inequalities surrounding death from the perspectives of scholars in a wide range of humanistic and social science disciplines, including art history, anthropology, Film and media studies, political science, popular culture, psychology, religion, sociology, and statistics. The majority of the chapters of this interdisciplinary anthology are revised versions of papers presented at the second Austin H. Kutscher Memorial Conference, entitled “Unequal Before Death,” organized by the Columbia University Seminar on Death in March 2010 and attended by leading experts in academia, healthcare and the not-for-profit sector. The purpose of this volume is to bring attention to the many inequalities affecting the end of life experience and to encourage collaborative research and action that can improve the experience for the dying and those around them. This volume does not question the truism of death as the ultimate equalizer but rather, seeks to explore the many ways in which the final journey is not equal.

This novel, cross-disciplinary collection explains how dying, death, and grieving have changed in America, for better or worse, since the turn of the millennium. What does dying with dignity mean in a diverse society with rapidly advancing technology, an aging population, and finite resources? In this fascinating collection, scholars from across the nation illuminate the remarkable changes that have taken place in recent years, are now underway, and loom on the horizon as they lead readers on an exploration of the ways Americans think about and handle dying and death. Volume 1, New Paths of Engagement, addresses changes in the circumstances and expressions of death, dying, and grief in 21st-century America. Volume 2, New Venues in the Search for Dignity and Grace, delves into the challenges inherent in creating a medical and social system that allows for an optimal end-of-life experience for all and proposes ways in which society can be reshaped to move toward that ideal.

The current revival of interest in death seeks ultimate authority in the individual self. This is the first book to comprehensively examine this revival and relate it to theories of modernity and postmodernity.

The Columbia University Seminars, founded in 1945, represent a distinctive experiment in academia. Scholars from different disciplines and institutions, as well as practitioners and other experts, meet once a month through the academic year to study and discuss subjects, sometimes beyond their specialties. Through collegial discussion, participants learn from one another. Today, over ninety seminars are ongoing: some have outlived their founders, while others are just beginning. A Community of Scholars is a seventy-fifth anniversary celebration of the founding of The University Seminars. It brings together essays by seminar chairs and other leading participants that exemplify the diversity and vibrancy of these proceedings. Their topics are wide-ranging—the evolution of the labor movement, urban life, the politics and culture of Brazil, the Enlightenment, the prospects for world peace—but in each, a commitment to intellectual provocation and shared learning is on full display. An informative introduction explains how The Seminars came into being and why they continue to matter. The volume also features biographical sketches of Frank Tannenbaum, the Latin America scholar and criminologist who founded The Seminars, and his wife, the anthropologist Jane Belo, a close friend of Margaret Mead. Belo and Tannenbaum endowed The Seminars and allowed them to flourish. A remarkable testament to an unparalleled intellectual forum, A Community of Scholars allows readers to share in the eclectic spirit of The Seminars.

Disrupting commonly held notions about who gets tattooed and why, The Tattoo Project describes, illustrates, and celebrates the social significances of commemorative tattoos. Written by scholars from various disciplines, as well as by community members and practitioners, this edited collection considers the meanings people make from their experiences of love, loss, trauma, resilience, and change, and why they choose to inscribe those meanings on their bodies. This methods-based text also examines the process of building a community-contributed digital archive of tattoo photos and stories, the result of which inspired the contributions to this book. Writing at the intersections between the public and the private, the authors consider the production and mobilization of knowledge across communities, disciplines, and space. Featuring beautiful tattoo photography, personal narratives from project participants, and original poetry by Priscila Uppal, The Tattoo Project is a novel read that bridges the gap between academic and popular audiences. This timely collection is a valuable resource for courses across the social sciences and humanities and for anyone interested in tattoos and their significance.

INNER PEACE—GLOBAL IMPACT describes underlying principles of Tibetan wisdom traditions relevant for successful leadership in the 21st century as well as Tibetan teachers whose entrepreneurial actions were critical to the development of Tibetan Buddhism in the West. With first-person narratives, personal stories, scholarly research, and commentaries by noted social scientists, this book is written for everyone who wants ideas to revitalize leadership. It is rich with vivid pictures of deep personal experience. Long-time Western Tibetan Buddhist practitioners describe how their practice has influenced them in fields as diverse as scientific research, social work, art, dance, and university teaching. The Dalai Lama is seen through the eyes of his long-time friend, eminent author Huston Smith, as well as through the experiences of Thupten Jinpa, his 25-year English translator. Sogyal Rinpoche shares his vision for transforming traditional ways of studying, while Lama Tharchin Rinpoche, a 10th generation Tibetan yogi, reflects on the challenges of teaching in a Western culture where perspectives differ so vastly from those of Tibet. With insights from Tibetan lamas and Western thought leaders including Peter Senge, Bill George, and Margaret Wheatley, this book creates new visions for leadership and the workplace.

A comprehensive book written by experienced practitioners, this single-volume work describes clinical competencies, specific challenges, and applications in providing services to the elderly and their caregivers. More people are living past age 65 than ever before in the United States, largely due to medical care advances and increased attention to preventive care. The number of people aged 65 and older has increased from 35 million in 2000 to 40 million in 2010, and the elderly population is expected to reach 72 million by 2030. Additionally, the American Psychological Association estimates at least 20 percent of all people aged 65 and older have a diagnosable mental disorder. There is a clear need to provide additional training support to those in the field of elder care as well as those who are friends or family members of older adults. Written by a team of experts each specializing in an aspect of elder care, The Praeger Handbook of Mental Health and the Aging Community is a single-volume text that addresses the training needs of mental health care providers serving the aging population. It offers holistic and integrated models of care after presenting an in-depth explanation of the brain, body, social, and emotional changes across aging that can trigger psychological disorders. The chapters pay attention to issues of diversity and culture in America's aging population; present an integrated care model to serve all of the needs of mentally ill elders; include numerous case studies to demonstrate how approaches can be utilized; and discuss topics such as disability, poverty, and the legal and ethical ramifications of elder care.