A Culture of Memorialization: Examining Public Grief Through Funeral Programs
Location
CSU 201
Start Date
10-4-2018 11:05 AM
End Date
10-4-2018 12:05 PM
Student's Major
Anthropology
Student's College
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Mentor's Name
Chelsea Mead
Mentor's Department
Anthropology
Mentor's College
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Description
Grief can be expressed in a vast number of ways, each unique to the person experiencing it. But are there wider trends in the manner in which this grief is displayed publicly? In this research, I examine a collection of Christian funeral programs in Blue Earth County spanning from the 1960's to the present day. By examining the linguistic and symbolic features of these programs, I identify commonalities in the imagery, hymns, bible verses, and other tributes to the deceased and analyze them across several factors including specific genders, ages, and time periods. This examination reflects a larger culture of memorialization among local Christian mourners as they participate in the grieving process, ultimately contributing to larger conversations of grief, mourning, memorialization, and religious ideologies in the Southern Minnesota area.
A Culture of Memorialization: Examining Public Grief Through Funeral Programs
CSU 201
Grief can be expressed in a vast number of ways, each unique to the person experiencing it. But are there wider trends in the manner in which this grief is displayed publicly? In this research, I examine a collection of Christian funeral programs in Blue Earth County spanning from the 1960's to the present day. By examining the linguistic and symbolic features of these programs, I identify commonalities in the imagery, hymns, bible verses, and other tributes to the deceased and analyze them across several factors including specific genders, ages, and time periods. This examination reflects a larger culture of memorialization among local Christian mourners as they participate in the grieving process, ultimately contributing to larger conversations of grief, mourning, memorialization, and religious ideologies in the Southern Minnesota area.
Recommended Citation
Rykhus, Bethany. "A Culture of Memorialization: Examining Public Grief Through Funeral Programs." Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mankato, MN, April 10, 2018.
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/urs/2018/oral-session-05/1
