Confronting Death

Advance Praise for Confronting Death:"This book breaks new ground. It is an encyclopaedic, thoughtful, well-crafted analysis of the American way of death, and should be regarded as a landmark in the future."--Vern Bengtson, Director, Social Sciences Division, Andrus Gerontology Center at the University of Southern California"This book is a rich source of information and offers thoughtful reflection which can serve as a valuable text for a course exploring death and dying."--Maureen Muldoon, University of Windsor

• 1 DYING AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT: Traditional Patterns of Death and Dying 2 THE MODERN ORGANIZATION OF DEATH: The Medicalization of Dying, The Caretaker's Role, Staff Patients and Patterns of Dying 3 THE DYING PATIENT: A CREATION OF THE MODERN ORGANIZATION OF DEATH: Elizabeth Kubler-Ross: American Folk-hero of "Death and Dying" and Bricklayer of Stages for the Dying Patient, Trajectories of Dying, Suffering in the face of Dying 4 FUNERALS AS SOCIAL FACTS: The Funeral as a Social Rite 5 GRIEF AND INDIVIDUALISM: THE DECLINE OF RITUAL AND THE EMERGENCE OF THE THERAPEUTIC MODEL: Grief as Social Concept, Grief as a Disease, Widowhood 6 ON DYING DEATH AND CHILDREN: Children's Perceptions of Death, Parental Bereavement 7 THE DEATH OF HUMANS BY HUMANS: Part One: Suicide 8 THE DEATH OF HUMANS BY HUMANS: Part 2: The Holocaust and The Technology of Genocide 9 EASING DEATH'S STING: A Conclusion