Mediated Death

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.