Alternative Memorials: Death and Memory in Contemporary America

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dc.contributor.authorDobler, Robert, 1980-
dc.date.accessioned2010-11-05T00:58:12Z
dc.date.available2010-11-05T00:58:12Z
dc.date.issued2010-09
dc.descriptionx, 89 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number.en_US
dc.description.abstractAlternative forms of memorialization offer a sense of empowerment to the mourner, bringing the act of grieving into the personal sphere and away from the clinical or official realm of funeral homes and cemeteries. Constructing a spontaneous shrine allows a mourner to create a meaningful narrative of the deceased's life, giving structure and significance to a loss that may seem chaotic or meaningless in the immediate aftermath. These vernacular memorials also function as focal points for continued communication with the departed and interaction with a community of mourners that blurs distinctions between public and private spheres. I focus my analysis on MySpace pages that are transformed into spontaneous memorials in the wake of a user's death, the creation of "ghost bikes" at the sites of fatal bicycle-automobile collisions, and memorial tattooing, exploring the ways in which these practices are socially constructed innovations on the traditional material forms of mourning culture.en_US
dc.description.embargo2016-05-28
dc.description.sponsorshipCommittee in Charge: Dr. Daniel Wojcik, Folklore, Chair; Dr. Philip Scher, Anthropology; Dr. Doug Blandy, Arts and Administrationen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1794/10821
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Oregonen_US
dc.relation.ispartofseriesUniversity of University of Oregon theses, Interdisciplinary Studies Program: Individualized Program, M.A., 2010;
dc.subjectDeath
dc.subjectMemory
dc.subjectMourning customs
dc.subjectSpontaneous memorials
dc.subjectMySpace.com
dc.titleAlternative Memorials: Death and Memory in Contemporary Americaen_US
dc.title.alternativeDeath and Memory in Contemporary Americaen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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