
Mediated Death
Johanna Sumiala(Author)
Polity Press
1st Edition
Published on 25. November 2021
Book
Hardback
180 pages
978-1-5095-4453-0 (ISBN)
Description
How do the dead live among us today?
Approaching death from the perspective of media and communication studies, anthropology and sociology, this book explains how the all-encompassing presence of mediated death profoundly transforms contemporary society. It explores rituals of mourning and the livestreaming of death in hybrid media as well as contemporary media-driven practices of immortalisation. Sumiala draws on examples ranging from the iconic deaths of Margaret Thatcher and David Bowie to those of ordinary people ritualised in Instagram, YouTube and Facebook. In addition, this book examines digital mourning of global events including the Charlie Hebdo attacks, the Black Lives Matter movement and the Coronavirus pandemic.
Mediated Death is a must-read for scholars and students of communication studies as well as general readers interested in exploring the meaning of mediated death in contemporary society.
Approaching death from the perspective of media and communication studies, anthropology and sociology, this book explains how the all-encompassing presence of mediated death profoundly transforms contemporary society. It explores rituals of mourning and the livestreaming of death in hybrid media as well as contemporary media-driven practices of immortalisation. Sumiala draws on examples ranging from the iconic deaths of Margaret Thatcher and David Bowie to those of ordinary people ritualised in Instagram, YouTube and Facebook. In addition, this book examines digital mourning of global events including the Charlie Hebdo attacks, the Black Lives Matter movement and the Coronavirus pandemic.
Mediated Death is a must-read for scholars and students of communication studies as well as general readers interested in exploring the meaning of mediated death in contemporary society.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 218 mm
Width: 138 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
431 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5095-4453-0 (9781509544530)
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions



Person
Johanna Sumiala is Associate Professor of Media and Communication Studies at the University of Helsinki.
Content
Preface
1 Mediating Death
2 A Brief History of an Idea
3 The Event of Death
4 Rethinking Mourning Rituals
5 Ritual Contestations
6 Rituals Connect and Separate
7 The Quest for Post-Mortality
Bibliography
Index
1 Mediating Death
2 A Brief History of an Idea
3 The Event of Death
4 Rethinking Mourning Rituals
5 Ritual Contestations
6 Rituals Connect and Separate
7 The Quest for Post-Mortality
Bibliography
Index