| Description |
xiv, 301 pages : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 24 cm |
| Contents |
1. Meeting the "King of Terrors" -- 2. Death in the Colonial Village -- 3. "Thy Death": 1800-1850 -- 4. To Speak of Death: Culture and the Individual -- 5. The Era of the Civil War: 1850-1870 -- 6. "But the Weaver Knows the Threads": Perspectives on the Civil War -- 7. Great Transitions: 1870-1950 -- 8. To Speak of Death: Searching for a New Vocabulary -- 9. "A Vicarious Intimacy with Death": 1950 to the Present -- App. Life Expectancies in Schenectady, ca. 1880-1930 |
| Summary |
"Facing the "King of Terrors" examines changes in the roles and perceptions of death in one American community, Schenectady, New York, from 1750 to 1990. A remarkably thorough study, this work incorporates a wide variety of topics, including causes of death, epidemics and the reactions they engendered, rituals surrounding dying and burial, cemeteries and grave markers, public celebrations of the deaths of important figures, reactions to war, and businesses that profited from death. Combining an in-depth look at patterns of death in society as a whole with an investigation of personal responses to such cultural customs, the book makes use of personal letters and diaries to explore how broader social changes were manifested in the lives of individuals."--BOOK JACKET |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Subject |
Death -- Social aspects -- New York (State) -- Schenectady -- History.
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Funeral rites and ceremonies -- New York (State) -- Schenectady -- History.
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Mortality -- Social aspects -- New York (State) -- Schenectady -- History.
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Mourning customs -- New York (State) -- Schenectady -- History.
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| SUBJECT |
Schenectady (N.Y.) http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n50056282 -- Social life and customs. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh2001008851
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| LC no. |
99021118 |
| ISBN |
0521633192 |
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