Death in a Consumer Culture

<p>Death has never been more visible to consumers. From life insurance to burial plots to estate planning we are constantly reminded of consumer choices to be made with our mortality in mind. Religious beliefs in the afterlife (or their absence) impact everyday consumption activities.</p><p><em>Death in a Consumer Culture</em> presents the broadest array of research on the topic of death and consumer behaviour across disciplinary boundaries. Organised into five sections covering: The Death Industry; Death Rituals; Death and Consumption; Death and the Body; and Alternate Endings the book explores topics from celebrity death tourism pet and online memorialization; family history research to alternatives to traditional corpse disposal methods and patient-assisted suicide. Work from scholars in history religious studies sociology psychology anthropology and cultural studies sits alongside research in marketing and consumer culture. From eastern and western perspectives spanning social groups and demographic categories all explore the ubiquity of death as a physical emotional cultural social and cosmological inevitability.</p><p>Offering a richly unique anthology on this challenging topic this book will be of interest to researchers working at the intersections of consumer culture marketing and mortality.</p>