Sociology of death

Last updated
Making of a death mask. Making death mask LCCN2014681359.jpg
Making of a death mask.

The sociology of death (sometimes known as sociology of death, dying and bereavement or death sociology) explores and examines the relationships between society and death.

Contents

These relationships can include religious, cultural, philosophical, family, to behavioural insights among many others. [1] It widens our understanding of death as more than clinical death, but a process combining social elements from the immediate needs of deathcare to wider social beliefes. Involving multiple disciplines, the sociology of deathcare can be seen as an interdisciplinary field of study across sociology and its sub-fields. [2]

Definition

The sociology of death can be defined as an interdisciplinary and relatively recent field of research concerned with the interactions of dying, death, and grief with society. It explores and examines both the micro to macro levels of interaction; from relationships of death upon individuals to its process across society. [3] [4] The precise characterisation of the sociology of death is debated, but primarily revolves around the idea that death is a social construct. Experiences both as an audience and participant of dying and death, are highly shaped by social factors. [5]

History

19th century

The development of the sociology of death can be attributed, at least within a Western concept of sociology, with Harriet Martineau. [5] Martineau's work, reflecting on suicide, reaction from it by religion, to insights into national morals, through their book How to Observe Morals and Manners [6] (1838) helped establish a sociological methodology of death. [7] [8]

Émile Durkheim, in his work Suicide [9] (1897) and The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life [10] (1912), contributed to the sociological exploration and examination of death and its social impact; introducing sociological monographs, case studies, and statistical evidence to this field of study. [11]

In The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life , Durkheim outlines: 'when someone dies, the group to which he belongs feels itself lessened and, to react against this loss, it assembles. Collective sentiments are renewed which then lead men to seek one another and to assemble together'. [10] Here, evidence to the sociological nature of dying and death are considered.[ citation needed ]

To an extent Weber is also attributed to the creation of a sociology of death. In their work on Puritan beliefs and the development of capitalism they outline that death, although the end of an individual, can be seen as a crucial moment where the development of society takes place within. [12] Through rituals and belief systems, common collective agreement of what society should be is born. In the Puritan case study, Weber's work leans on the afterlife belief of predestination – a belief system that Weber outlined helped to establish capitalist society. [11]

20th century

Precursory work, as seen above, had created a prototype field of research for the sociology of death to grow out from. Further work in the 1960s [3] grew into a defined interdisciplinary field from the 1990s with great outputs of research and offerings of academic courses on sociologically related issues around death. [5]

Interdisciplinary nature

Funeral rites in India. Traditional rites of India.jpg
Funeral rites in India.

The sociology of death highlights distinct social considerations to explore aspects of dying, death, and grief that surround the emotional ending of human life. However, there are also cognitive, behavioural, and spiritual aspects to consider in the sociological examination of death. [9] The sociology of death has a distinct interdisciplinary nature that leans on closely associated fields of research with sociology.

Key intersections include anthropological, archeological, historical, psychological, to political to name a few. [13] [14]

Thanatology

The overlap of the scientific study of death and sociology have produced areas of research focused on deathcare professionals, [15] near-death experiences, [16] [17] to reducing pain and social suffering in dying. [18]

Research themes

Death taboo

A common theme of research into the sociology of death is the taboo or perceived social taboo that surrounds death. "Death denial" culture and interaction within society is both a heavily researched and critiqued area. [19] [20]

Declining mortality

Throughout the world, mortality rates have steadily decreased decade upon decade [21] [22] that has historically changed our meaning to death. [3] As age-related illness and diseases has become part of our lives, what makes a "good death" socially has altered along with advancements in medicine and technology. [23]

Dying vs. Bereaved

Challenging how death is perceived and examining dying from the perspective of the those dying, rather than their carers and family. [24]

Criticisms

Western centricism

As a field of study, throughout course books to articles, a focus on Western societies has produced a Eurocentric and Western centric views of the sociology of death. [5] [11]

Journals

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Émile Durkheim</span> French sociologist (1858–1916)

David Émile Durkheim was a French sociologist. Durkheim formally established the academic discipline of sociology and is commonly cited as one of the principal architects of modern social science, along with both Karl Marx and Max Weber.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copycat suicide</span> Emulation of another suicide

A copycat suicide is defined as an emulation of another suicide that the person attempting suicide knows about either from local knowledge or due to accounts or depictions of the original suicide on television and in other media. The publicized suicide serves as a trigger, in the absence of protective factors, for the next suicide by a susceptible or suggestible person. This is referred to as suicide contagion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grief</span> Response to loss in humans and other animals

Grief is the response to the loss of something deemed important, particularly to the loss of someone or some living thing that has died, to which a bond or affection was formed. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, grief also has physical, cognitive, behavioral, social, cultural, spiritual and philosophical dimensions. While the terms are often used interchangeably, bereavement refers to the state of loss, while grief is the reaction to that loss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thanatology</span> Scientific study of death and its aspects

Thanatology is the scientific study of death and the losses brought about as a result. It investigates the mechanisms and forensic aspects of death, such as bodily changes that accompany death and the postmortem period, as well as wider psychological and social aspects related to death. It is primarily an interdisciplinary study offered as a course of study at numerous colleges and universities.

According to the model of the five stages of grief, those experiencing grief go through five emotions: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Although it is in common use, studies have not confirmed these stages, and the model has been criticized as outdated as well as unhelpful in explaining the grieving process.

Robert Hertz was a French sociologist who was killed in active service during World War I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Computational sociology</span> Branch of the discipline of sociology

Computational sociology is a branch of sociology that uses computationally intensive methods to analyze and model social phenomena. Using computer simulations, artificial intelligence, complex statistical methods, and analytic approaches like social network analysis, computational sociology develops and tests theories of complex social processes through bottom-up modeling of social interactions.

<i>Suicide</i> (Durkheim book) 1897 book by Émile Durkheim

Suicide: A Study in Sociology is an 1897 book written by French sociologist Émile Durkheim. It was the second methodological study of a social fact in the context of society. It is ostensibly a case study of suicide, a publication unique for its time that provided an example of what the sociological monograph should look like.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suicidology</span> Scientific study of suicide and self-destructive behaviors

Suicidology is the scientific study of suicidal behaviour, the causes of suicidalness and suicide prevention. Every year, about one million people die by suicide, which is a mortality rate of sixteen per 100,000 or one death every forty seconds. Suicidologists believe that suicide is largely preventable with the right actions, knowledge about suicide, and a change in society's view of suicide to make it more acceptable to talk about suicide. There are many different fields and disciplines involved with suicidology, the two primary ones being psychology and sociology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social medicine</span> Understanding how culture and larger groups of people shape health procedures

Social medicine is an interdisciplinary field that focuses on the profound interplay between socio-economic factors and individual health outcomes. Rooted in the challenges of the Industrial Revolution, it seeks to:

  1. Understand how specific social, economic, and environmental conditions directly impact health, disease, and the delivery of medical care.
  2. Promote conditions and interventions that address these determinants, aiming for a healthier and more equitable society.
<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sociology</span> Social science that studies human society and its development

Sociology is the scientific and systematic study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. Regarded as a part of both the social sciences and humanities, sociology uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about social order and social change. Sociological subject matter ranges from micro-level analyses of individual interaction and agency to macro-level analyses of social systems and social structure. Applied sociological research may be applied directly to social policy and welfare, whereas theoretical approaches may focus on the understanding of social processes and phenomenological method.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death anxiety</span> Anxiety caused by thoughts of death

Death anxiety is anxiety caused by thoughts of one's own death, and is also referred to as thanatophobia. Individuals affected by this kind of anxiety experience challenges and adversities in many aspects of their lives. Death anxiety is different from necrophobia, which refers to an irrational or disproportionate fear of dead bodies or of anything associated with death. Death anxiety has been found to affect people of differing demographic groups as well, such as men versus women, young versus old, etc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deathcare</span> Planning, provision, and improvement of post-death services

Deathcare is the planning, provision, and improvement of post-death services, products, policy, and governance. Here, deathcare functions to describe the industry of deathcare workers, the policy and politics surrounding deathcare provision, and as an interdisciplinary field of academic study.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prolonged grief disorder</span> Medical condition

Prolonged grief disorder (PGD), also known as complicated grief (CG), traumatic grief (TG) and persistent complex bereavement disorder (PCBD) in the DSM-5, is a mental disorder consisting of a distinct set of symptoms following the death of a family member or close friend. People with PGD are preoccupied by grief and feelings of loss to the point of clinically significant distress and impairment, which can manifest in a variety of symptoms including depression, emotional pain, emotional numbness, loneliness, identity disturbance and difficulty in managing interpersonal relationships. Difficulty accepting the loss is also common, which can present as rumination about the death, a strong desire for reunion with the departed, or disbelief that the death occurred. PGD is estimated to be experienced by about 10 percent of bereaved survivors, although rates vary substantially depending on populations sampled and definitions used.

Eran Shor is an Israeli-Canadian sociologist and a Professor of Sociology. He is the William Dawson Scholar at McGill University. His research interests include the causes and effects of political conflict and violence, ethnicity and nationalism, the sociology of health, and the media coverage of women and ethnic minorities. He focuses on the relationship between states’ counterterrorist policies and their respect for human rights and civil liberties. His research methods include computational analysis of big data, cross-national regression analysis and meta-analyses, as well as in-depth qualitative methods and content analysis.

Kevin D. Breault is an American sociologist and Professor of Sociology at Middle Tennessee State University, who researches in the areas of social epidemiology, suicide, homicide, religion in America, and Émile Durkheim. He serves as Editor-in-Chief of Sociological Spectrum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Health politics</span> Interdisciplinary study and analysis of health politics

Health politics or politics of health is an interdisciplinary field of study concerned with the analysis of social and political power over the health status of individuals.

Black maternal mortality in the United States refers to the death of women, specifically those who identify as Black or African American, during or after child delivery. In general, maternal death can be due to a myriad of factors, such as how the nature of the pregnancy or the delivery itself, but is not associated with unintentional or secondary causes. In the United States, around 700 women die from pregnancy-related illnesses or complications per year. This number does not include the approximately 50,000 women who experience life-threatening complications during childbirth, resulting in lifelong disabilities and complications. However, there are stark differences in maternal mortality rates for Black American women versus Indigenous American, Alaska Native, and White American women.

Reproductive loss, sometimes reproductive grief, describes a potential emotional response to unsuccessful attempts at human reproduction or family-building. These experienced losses may include involuntary childlessness generally, pregnancy loss from all causes, perinatal death, stillbirth, infecundity and infertility from all causes, failed attempts to conceive, failed fertility treatments, failed gestational surrogacy procedures, and losses related to all dimensions of the adoption process. Responses to miscarriage, stillbirth, selective reduction and neonatal death are a subtype of reproductive loss called perinatal bereavement.

Bereavement groups, or grief groups, are a type of support group that bereaved individuals may access to have a space to process through or receive social support around grief. Bereavement groups are typically one of the most common services offered to bereaved individuals, encompassing both formalized group therapy settings for reducing clinical levels of grief as well as support groups that offer support, information, and exchange between those who have experienced loss.

References

  1. ↑ Lofland, Lyn H. (1975). "Toward a Sociology of Death and Dying: Editor's Introduction". Urban Life. 4 (3): 243–249. doi:10.1177/089124167500400301. ISSN   0098-3039. S2CID   145645862.
  2. ↑ Van Brussel, Leen; Carpentier, Nico (2014). The social construction of death : interdisciplinary perspectives. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN   978-1137391919. OCLC   890435068.
  3. 1 2 3 Riley, John W. (1983). "Dying and the Meanings of Death: Sociological Inquiries". Annual Review of Sociology. 9: 191–216. doi:10.1146/annurev.so.09.080183.001203. ISSN   0360-0572. JSTOR   2946063.
  4. ↑ Seale, Clive (1998). Constructing death : the sociology of dying and bereavement. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. ISBN   051100267X. OCLC   47009903.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Puri, Jyoti (2021-09-01). "The Forgotten Lives of Sociology of Death: Remembering Du Bois, Martineau and Wells". The American Sociologist. 52 (3): 638–655. doi:10.1007/s12108-021-09511-2. ISSN   1936-4784. PMC   8405855 . PMID   34483345.
  6. ↑ Martineau, Harriet (1838). How to observe morals and manners (1 ed.). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers (published 1988). ISBN   0887387519. OCLC   17841381.
  7. ↑ Hill, Michael (1989). "Empiricism and Reason in Harriet Martineau's Sociology". Sociology Department, Faculty Publications. 451 (1).
  8. ↑ Brancaccio, M. T.; Engstrom, E. J.; Lederer, D. (2013-03-01). "The Politics of Suicide: Historical Perspectives on Suicidology before Durkheim. An Introduction". Journal of Social History. 46 (3): 607–619. doi:10.1093/jsh/shs110. ISSN   0022-4529.
  9. 1 2 Thompson, Neil; Allan, June; Carverhill, Philip A.; Cox, Gerry R.; Davies, Betty; Doka, Kenneth; Granek, Leeat; Harris, Darcy; Ho, Andy; Klass, Dennis; Small, Neil (2016-03-15). "The case for a sociology of dying, death, and bereavement". Death Studies. 40 (3): 172–181. doi:10.1080/07481187.2015.1109377. hdl: 10454/10065 . ISSN   0748-1187. PMID   26745467. S2CID   42720126.
  10. 1 2 Durkheim, Emile (1915). The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. Translated by Cosman, Carol. Oxford: Oxford University Press (published 2001). p. 339. ISBN   978-0192832559.
  11. 1 2 3 Walter, Tony (2008). "The Sociology of Death: The Sociology of Death". Sociology Compass. 2 (1): 317–336. doi:10.1111/j.1751-9020.2007.00069.x.
  12. ↑ Weber, Max (1905). The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit by Max Weber. Dover Publications Inc. (published 2003). ISBN   978-0486427034.
  13. ↑ Kiong, Tong Chee; Schiller, Anne L. (1993). "The Anthropology of Death: A Preliminary Overview". Southeast Asian Journal of Social Science. 21 (2): 1–9. doi:10.1163/030382493X00080. ISSN   0303-8246. JSTOR   24491682.
  14. ↑ Borgstrom, Erica; Ellis, Julie (2017-04-03). "Introduction: researching death, dying and bereavement". Mortality. 22 (2): 93–104. doi: 10.1080/13576275.2017.1291600 . ISSN   1357-6275. S2CID   55820127.
  15. ↑ Sinclair, Shane (2011-02-08). "Impact of death and dying on the personal lives and practices of palliative and hospice care professionals". CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal. 183 (2): 180–187. doi:10.1503/cmaj.100511. ISSN   0820-3946. PMC   3033923 . PMID   21135081.
  16. ↑ Dam, Abhijit Kanti (2016). "Significance of End-of-life Dreams and Visions Experienced by the Terminally Ill in Rural and Urban India". Indian Journal of Palliative Care. 22 (2): 130–134. doi: 10.4103/0973-1075.179600 . ISSN   0973-1075. PMC   4843550 . PMID   27162422.
  17. ↑ Moody, Raymond A. (2013). "Getting Comfortable With Death & Near-Death Experiences: Near-Death Experiences: An Essay in Medicine & Philosophy". Missouri Medicine. 110 (5): 368–371. ISSN   0026-6620. PMC   6179873 . PMID   24279183.
  18. ↑ Patrick, Donald L.; Engelberg, Ruth A.; Curtis, J. Randall (2001-09-01). "Evaluating the Quality of Dying and Death". Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. 22 (3): 717–726. doi: 10.1016/S0885-3924(01)00333-5 . ISSN   0885-3924. PMID   11532585.
  19. ↑ Kellehear, A. (1984). "Are we a 'death-denying' society? a sociological review". Social Science & Medicine. 18 (9): 713–723. doi:10.1016/0277-9536(84)90094-7. ISSN   0277-9536. PMID   6729531.
  20. ↑ Smith, Richard (2000-01-15). "A good death". BMJ: British Medical Journal. 320 (7228): 129–130. doi:10.1136/bmj.320.7228.129. ISSN   0959-8138. PMC   1128725 . PMID   10634711.
  21. ↑ Vollset, Stein Emil; Goren, Emily; Yuan, Chun-Wei; Cao, Jackie; Smith, Amanda E.; Hsiao, Thomas; Bisignano, Catherine; Azhar, Gulrez S.; Castro, Emma; Chalek, Julian; Dolgert, Andrew J. (2020-10-17). "Fertility, mortality, migration, and population scenarios for 195 countries and territories from 2017 to 2100: a forecasting analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study". The Lancet. 396 (10258): 1285–1306. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30677-2. ISSN   0140-6736. PMC   7561721 . PMID   32679112.
  22. ↑ Gianino, Maria Michela; Lenzi, Jacopo; Fantini, Maria Pia; Ricciardi, Walter; Damiani, Gianfranco (2017). "Declining amenable mortality: a reflection of health care systems?". BMC Health Services Research. 17 (1): 735. doi: 10.1186/s12913-017-2708-z . ISSN   1472-6963. PMC   5688697 . PMID   29141632.
  23. ↑ Hart, Bethne; Sainsbury, Peter; Short, Stephanie (1998). "Whose dying? A sociological critique of the 'good death'". Mortality. 3 (1): 65–77. doi:10.1080/713685884. ISSN   1357-6275.
  24. ↑ Kellehear, Allan (1984-01-01). "The Sociology of Death and Dying: An Overview". Australian Social Work. 37 (3–4): 3–9. doi:10.1080/03124078408549804. ISSN   0312-407X.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.