13th Edition
Death, Society, and Human Experience
The 13th edition of Death, Society, and Human Experience provides a panoramic overview of the ways that we are touched by death and dying, both as individuals and as members of society. A landmark text in the field, the authors draw on contributions from the social and behavioral sciences as well as the humanities, including perspectives offered through history, philosophy, religion, literature, and the arts, to provide thorough coverage and understanding of topics associated with the end of life and death and dying. By approaching the subject from multiple angles, the authors explain the various ways that individual, cultural, and societal attitudes influence both how and when we die and how we live and deal with the knowledge of death and loss.
Originally written by Robert Kastenbaum, a renowned scholar who developed one of the world’s first death education courses, Christopher M. Moreman, who has worked in the field of death studies for two decades, has updated this edition. In addition to infusing his close areas of focus, both in afterlife beliefs and experiences and how these might affect how people live their lives, he’s weaved in new coverage of current affairs, including:
- The impact of COVID-19 on experiences of death, bereavement, mourning, and more
- Expanded legalization of physician-assisted dying in the United States and several countries
- Changes in bereavement rituals and traditions stemming from technology use and social media
With additional content and classroom extensions available online, Death, Society, and Human Experience remains a thoughtful, exploratory, and impressively comprehensive overview for undergraduate and graduate courses in death, dying, and bereavement.
1. As We Think About Death 2. What is Death? What Does Death Mean? 3. Denial or Adaptation: The Death System 4. Dying: Transition from Life 5. Hospice and Palliative Care 6. End-of-Life Issues and Decisions 7. Suicide 8. Violent Death: Murder, Terrorism, Genocide, Disaster, and Accident 9. Euthanasia, Assisted Death, Abortion, and the Right to Die 10. Death in the World of Childhood 11. Bereavement, Grief, and Mourning 12. The Funeral Process 13. Do We Survive Death? 14. How Can We Help? Caregiving and Death Education 15.Good Life, Good Death? Trying to Make Sense of It All
Biography
Robert Kastenbaum (1932–2013) was Professor of Communications at Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona. His other books include The Psychology of Death (1972, 1990, 2000), Dorian, Graying: Is Youth the Only Thing Worth Having? (1995), and On Our Way: The Final Passage through Life and Death (2004).
Christopher M. Moreman is Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies at California State University East Bay, Hayward, California. He has written and edited influential books on topics related to death and dying. He is the editor of The Routledge Companion to Death and Dying (2017), the author of Beyond the Threshold: Afterlife Beliefs and Experiences in World Religions (2017), Dharma of the Dead: Zombies, Mortality, and Buddhist Philosophy (2018), and the editor of the three-volume series titled The Spiritualist Movement (2013).
"Christopher Moreman's updated edition of Death, Society, and Human Experience is crucial for comprehending the complexities of death, dying, and grief, with updates reflecting the COVID-19 pandemic experience. The global pandemic has forced most of us to confront the reality of death, the process of dying, and the profound impact of grief in ways we never could have anticipated. Death, Society, and Human Experience masterfully guides readers through these deeply emotional and intellectually challenging territories, shedding light on the most pressing questions of our era. It provides personal reflection opportunities, steering us through sensitive topics. I wholeheartedly endorse this vital text."
Andrea Fitzroy, PhD, Assistant Teaching Professor of Health Equity, Center for the Study of Human Health , Emory College of Arts and Sciences, Emory University
"To learn about death is to learn about oneself. Updated since the pandemic, the 13th edition is academically informative and personally engaging. It provides a magisterial account of death-related controversies, global case studies, social issues, and existential questions about dying."
Sarah K. Pinnock, Jennie Farris Railey King Professor of Religion, Trinity University, San Antonio TX
