dc.contributor.author |
Dobler, Robert, 1980- |
|
dc.date.accessioned |
2010-11-05T00:58:12Z |
|
dc.date.available |
2010-11-05T00:58:12Z |
|
dc.date.issued |
2010-09 |
|
dc.identifier.uri |
http://hdl.handle.net/1794/10821 |
|
dc.description |
x, 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.abstract |
Alternative 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.sponsorship |
Committee in Charge:
Dr. Daniel Wojcik, Folklore, Chair;
Dr. Philip Scher, Anthropology;
Dr. Doug Blandy, Arts and Administration |
en_US |
dc.language.iso |
en_US |
en_US |
dc.publisher |
University of Oregon |
en_US |
dc.relation.ispartofseries |
University of University of Oregon theses, Interdisciplinary Studies Program: Individualized Program, M.A., 2010; |
|
dc.subject |
Death |
|
dc.subject |
Memory |
|
dc.subject |
Mourning customs |
|
dc.subject |
Spontaneous memorials |
|
dc.subject |
MySpace.com |
|
dc.title |
Alternative Memorials: Death and Memory in Contemporary America |
en_US |
dc.title.alternative |
Death and Memory in Contemporary America |
en_US |
dc.type |
Thesis |
en_US |
dc.description.embargo |
2016-05-28 |
|