Beyond the Body: Death and Social Identity

📘 Book Details

• Publisher: Routledge

• Author: Elizabeth Hallam

• Language: English

• Edition: 1

• Binding: Paperback

• Pages: 254

• Release Date: 24-06-1999

• ISBN: 9780415182928

• Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches

📝 About The Book

Beyond the Body by Elizabeth Hallam presents a compelling exploration of death, dying, and bereavement through the lens of sociology and cultural anthropology. Challenging traditional views that anchor identity solely to the physical body, the book investigates how self-identity can persist even after the body is absent or has been disposed of.

Drawing on cross-cultural studies and extensive fieldwork, Hallam delves into the roles played by undertakers, embalmers, coroners, clergy, clairvoyants, exorcists, and bereavement counsellors, offering a nuanced understanding of how societies interpret the soul, spirit, and body in death. The text critically examines the rituals, beliefs, and professional practices that shape our experiences of loss and memory.

This interdisciplinary work is ideal for students and scholars of sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, and death studies, as well as professionals involved in funeral services, grief counselling, and spiritual care. It invites readers to rethink the relationship between body, identity, and the afterlife, making it a vital contribution to contemporary social theory and the study of mortality.