You can die but once? Creativity, narrative and epistemology in Western death

Abstract

Employing two case studies from different spheres of anthropological practice, we argue that a narrative approach provides productive analytical ground for the study of Western death. It has been argued that narratives are attempts to create a presence to what is absent and truth to what is imagined and forgotten. Inverting this thesis, in this paper, we investigate how narratives can create absence where there is presence and ignite imagination and speculation where there is truth. Arguing that death 'invites a story', we examine cases which are as much about creative orchestration of human ingenuity as of meaningful accounts of epistemological metalanguage .

Studies in Forensic Biohistory

“…In fact, in terms of practice the overlap is significant. Considering biohistorical research separately allows us to engage a unique set of circumstances surrounding certain human bodies, personhood, and aspects of embodiment, and to reflect upon the role that anthropologists play in the myriad, diverse narratives that "run through" a particular body (Buck and Pipyrou, 2014). Engaging the subject as a coherent field permits us to connect the practical mechanics of forensics and bioarchaeology (developing biological profiles from human remains) to a corpus of literature that deserves greater consideration, and thus theorize an emerging area of emphasis to the benefit of the field.…”

Narrating death: affective reworking of suicide in rural Greece

“…Over the subsequent three months, the story of Andreas's murder was circulated in the town and gained ‘fact‐like qualities’ (Buck and Pipyrou forthcoming). Andreas, it emerged, was the victim of a violent mugging, probably conducted by xenoi (foreigners).…”

“…Until this day, sorcery is a topic frequently discussed in rural Thessaly and is a common theme that rouses emotions in both narrators and audience (see Knight : 59; Buck and Pipyrou forthcoming). People draw on a cultural repertoire of plausible causes of death that will invoke the desired response in the public imagination.…”

“…In both instances the families successfully diverted public attention away from suicide through affective narratives that ‘grab people’ (Wetherell ). The alternative stories are now commonly accepted as ‘fact’ (Buck and Pipyrou forthcoming). Andreas's family aggressively re‐wrote history by presenting a different story about his death, while Giannis's sisters transformed suicide into an indirect murder by accusing Koula of sorcery.…”

“… Death is a multiply constructed and intersubjective emotional experience through which social and scientific configurations are exposed and expressed (Danforth ; Davies and Park ). Buck and Pipyrou (forthcoming) discuss at length the contrasting scientific and social explanations for the same instance of death, arguing that both approaches construct stories rich in rhetoric and ‘facts’ intended for specific audiences.…”