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As a cultural artifact, memorials have been a part of funerary traditions for centuries and have continued to evolve as human culture has changed over time. This volume draws from a diverse, international group of academics to offer an overview of grieving and memorialization, ranging from traditional modes of expression to contemporary modes that revolve around the digital world. The editorial team is devoted to the death studies milieu and is interested in exploring relevant and timely issues that demonstrate historical persistence and continued growth. This collection of short, accessible essays examines issues related to memorialization, providing a broad overview of contemporary scholarship and an introduction to topics relevant to both established death studies scholars and a broader audience.
Robert Spinelli is the archivist for Special Collections at Middle Tennessee State University. Prior to his role there, he worked in the non-profit museum sector and was the former Special Collections Librarian at Fisk University. Mr. Spinelli is also an active researcher in the fields of misinformation and death studies. His first book, The Lizard People Don’t Want You to Read This: Essays on Conspiracy Theories in Popular Culture, will be published by McFarland Publishers in Fall 2025, with his second, Death, Commemoration & Cultural Meaning: Past & Present, due out with Berghahn Books.
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Commemoration and Cultural Meaning, Historic and Present
Robert Spinelli and Robyn S. Lacy
Part I: Archaeological and Historical Examinations of Grief and Commemoration
Chapter 1. From Etruria to Lisbon: Archaeological Influences and Memory in Three Contemporary Cemeteries (Lisbon, Portugal)
Tânia Manuel Casimiro and Joel Santos
Chapter 2. An Invitation to Mourn: Images of Funerals and Mourners in Funerary Ephemera of Late Eighteenth Century England
Dan O’Brien
Chapter 3. Quantifying Trauma: Death, Data, and Memorial Collecting
Kaylee P. Alexander
Chapter 4. Catharín na Leanbh (Village of Children): The Use of Cillíní for the Burial of the Unbaptized in Rural Ireland in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
Ciara Henderson
Part II: Contemporary Grief and Commemoration
Chapter 5. Death, Bodies, Burial, and the Law: The Plight of Non–Federally Recognized Indigenous Groups in the United States
Katie Stringer Clary, Carolyn Dillian, Acting Chief Cheryl Cail, and Chief Harold “Buster” Hatcher
Chapter 6. Absent Corpses. Violated Bodies: Grief within Violent Contexts
Eliana Maniaci
Chapter 7. Commemoration through Absence and Presence at the Oklahoma City Memorial
Linda Levitt
Chapter 8. Dying for Change: Community Art, Activism, and the Impact of Visual Public Mourning in Early Queer AIDS Activism
Sarah Rayner
Part III: Depictions of Commemoration and Grief through the Media
Chapter 9. #RIPQueenElizabeth: Collective Mourning and Memorialization of Queen Elizabeth II on Twitter
Jessica D. Freeman and Jessica Elton
Chapter 10. Media Depictions of Grief and Grieving: Widows and Widowers in Film and Television
Anne F. MacLennan
Chapter 11. Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder? Visual Trends in COVID-19 Memorials
Cheyenne Zaremba
Chapter 12. “Dead Man’s Shoes”: Death, Play, and Distrust in the Elderly Everyday
Chris Farrell
Conclusions and Future Paths for Interdisciplinary Death Studies
Robyn S. Lacy and Robert Spinelli
Index