Embalmed vision

Troyer, John

doi:10.1080/13576270601088525

Cited by 14 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…In this context it is less concerned with whether the pre-deceased is positioned before or after the mortician within this formula. Indeed, as Troyer (2007) argues, the embalmed corpse has fundamentally become, for most Americans, how death looks, and it is therefore possibly erroneous to position either the mortician-A or the pre-deceased-A as primary agent. In fact, the mortician-A and the pre-deceased-A can theoretically be placed equivalently:…”

Section: Gell's Nexusmentioning

confidence: 97%

The social agency of dead bodies

Harper

2010

Mortality

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This article promotes Alfred Gell's theory of agency (1998) as an important framework that can be used to inform research in the field of Death Studies. Gell argues that agency can be abducted from objects via relationships between four 'terms' (indexes, artists, recipients and prototypes) and that these relationships can take multiple forms depending on which of the terms is positioned as 'agent' and which is positioned as 'patient'. These relationships can be further understood in light of Gell's concept of intentional psychology, as will be discussed below. In order to explicate the value of Gell's theoretical model, I will employ it in an analysis of ethnographic fieldwork data, collected in a funeral home in the United States and a funeral directors' in England, that examine viewing practices of the recently dead between the moments of death and of final disposal. In so doing, I will argue that Gell's theoretical model provides a valuable framework for understanding the relationship between the living and the dead, particularly when it is mediated by the visible dead body.

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Section: Gell's Nexusmentioning

confidence: 97%

The social agency of dead bodies

Harper

2010

Mortality

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“…On the one hand, the dead body can be understood as a deceased and embodied subject who exercises energy and control (Kopytoff, 1996;Shilling, 2012). On the other hand, it can be seen as a dead object that is subject to control (Troyer, 2007). 1 Importantly, in both of these understandings, the dead body is 'exposed to social crafting and form' in a similar vein as the living body (Butler, 2009, p. 3).…”

Section: Encountering the Human Corpsementioning

confidence: 99%

The human corpse as aesthetic-therapeutic

Mathijssen

2021

Mortality

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This paper shows how the human corpse can function as an aesthetic-therapeutic for the deceased, the bereaved and for death care professionals. It understands the human corpse as a liminal entity that is characterised by a specific materiality, biography and self-referentiality. Because of these attributes the corpse can be employed as an aesthetic-therapeutic by the bereaved and by death care professionals in response to a death. On the basis of participant observation in the death care industry and qualitative interviews with bereaved people and funeral professionals in the Netherlands, the paper discusses four engagements with the dead body in the period prior to the funeral: i) caring, ii) sustaining, iii) restoring, and iv) disregarding the dead body. Crucially, it shows how such engagements can contribute to the well-being of those involved, including the deceased, who is often understood to be sentient. Furthermore, by focusing on cases where the corpse is disregarded, the paper argues that an aesthetic-therapeutic understanding of the human corpse is hegemonic in the death care industry. The analysis and conclusion offer insights to scholars in the interdisciplinary field of death studies, as well as reflections for practitioners in end-of-life and death care.

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“…The Treasury Report argued for a requirement to distribute all income. 120 Senator Gore advocated limiting foundation lifetimes altogether, 121 encouraging foundations to spend down in terms quite familiar to critics who argue against the perpetual life charitable gift restrictions enjoy today. 122 But one need not go any further than the terms of the statute as enacted to find justification for demanding more charitable impact from foundations.…”

Section: B Mission-related Investment Uptakementioning

confidence: 99%