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.

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Apr 10th, 11:05 AM Apr 10th, 12:05 PM

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