Honors Program Theses
Death and Grief in 21st Century America: A Literature Review on Bereavement & Attitudes Toward Death
Award/Availability
Open Access Honors Program Thesis
First Advisor
Francis Degnin
Abstract
In modern Western society, death has been dissected and neatly packaged like meat at the grocery store. The unsavory aspects are hidden and our discomfort around dying has turned death into a commodity. In typical consumerist fashion, we are sold the “proper way” to die and grieve as a result. Funeral homes guide us through this new experience with the goal of assisting us through our grief. While most report positive experiences with funeral directors’ services, there remains evidence of overcharging and pressuring into the purchases of unnecessary additional services. This thesis explores modern attitudes and practices towards death, grief, and bereavement. My inspiration spurs from being a sixth generation monument craftsman and wanting to have a deeper understanding of grief and death. I wanted to ensure that the service we provide is ethical, in the best interests of our customers, and in line with my own core values. I explore these concerns through the existing bereavement literature and further apply my own experiences working with those that are grieving. Through this thesis I also hope to better inform others involved in the grief industry how to better serve those that have lost a loved one. I begin with a history of death attitudes in Western Civilization, then explore grief and bereavement, and finally dive into post-death practices. My research questions were:
(RQ1) How have attitudes toward death changed in the 21st century United States?
(RQ2) What can we learn from historical attitudes and practices surrounding death?
(RQ3) What strategies does the current research provide for reaching a point of Integrated Grief?
(RQ4) How can those in the grief industry better serve their clientele in an ethical way to help with their bereavement?
(RQ5) What directions are we heading with our future funeral and memorialization practices?
Year of Submission
2024
Department
Department of Philosophy and World Religions
University Honors Designation
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the designation University Honors
Date Original
5-2024
Object Description
1 PDF (61 pages)
Copyright
©2024 Jordan Whitney
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Language
en
Recommended Citation
Whitney, Jordan, "Death and Grief in 21st Century America: A Literature Review on Bereavement & Attitudes Toward Death" (2024). Honors Program Theses. 951.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/hpt/951
