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Virtual Afterlives: Grieving the Dead in the Twenty-First Century

Online ISBN:
9780813145495
Print ISBN:
9780813145419
Publisher:
University Press of Kentucky
Book

Virtual Afterlives: Grieving the Dead in the Twenty-First Century

Published:
15 May 2014
Online ISBN:
9780813145495
Print ISBN:
9780813145419
Publisher:
University Press of Kentucky

Abstract

From the dead body to the virtual body and from material memorials to virtual memorials, one thing is clear: the bodiless nature of memorialization of the dead across cultures. In postindustrial, Protestant, and capitalist societies such as the United States, this trend seems much more prominent and is moving at a faster rate than in the developing world. As globalization and industrialization increase, traditional cultural values and norms will be further eroded, and the trend toward bodiless memorialization will only intensify. Additionally, as the world's population and accompanying land scarcity issues continue to rise, the body as corpse will continue to disappear as countries look for new and innovative ways to dispose of the dead. Ultimately, the rise of memorialization is concurrent with the disappearance of the body. This book examines this disturbing trend, analyzing various types of memorialization and questioning the impetus behind these newly emerging forms of remembrance.

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