Routledge Handbook of Death and the Afterlife

<p>This <em>Handbook</em> traces the history of the changing notion of what it means to die and examines the many constructions of afterlife in literature text ritual and material culture throughout time. <i>The Routledge Handbook of Death and the Afterlife</i> is an outstanding reference source to the key topics problems and debates in this exciting subject. Comprising twenty-nine chapters by a team of international contributors the <em>Handbook</em> is divided into three parts and covers the following important themes:</p><p></p><ul> <br><br><p></p> <li>The study of dying death and grief</li> <br><br> <br><br><p></p> <li>Disposal of the dead: past present and future</li> <br><br> <br><br><p></p> <li>Representations of death: narratives and rhetoric</li> <br><br> <br><br><p></p> <li>Youth meets death: a juxtaposition</li> <br><br> <br><br><p></p> <li>Questionable deaths and afterlives: suicide ghosts and avatars</li> <br><br> <br><br><p></p> <li>Material corpses and imagined afterlives around the world</li> <br><br> </ul><p></p><p>Within these sections central issues debates and problems are examined including: the world of death and dying from various cultural viewpoints and timeframes cultural and social constructions of the definition of death disposal practices and views of the afterlife.</p><p></p><p>The Routledge Handbook of Death and the Afterlife is essential reading for students and researchers in religious studies philosophy anthropology and sociology.</p>