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In Death, Materiality and Mediation, Barbara Graham analyzes a diverse range of objects associated with remembrance in both the public and private arenas through ethnography of communities on both sides of the Irish border. In doing so, she explores the materially mediated interactions between the living and the dead, revealing the physical, cognitive, emotional, and spiritual roles of the dead in contemporary communities. Through this study, Graham expands the concept of materiality to include narrative, song, senses, emotions, ephemera and embodied experience. She also examines how modern practices are informed by older beliefs and folk religion.
“The book is a good read for those who are more knowledgeable and interested in the fields of the anthropology of materiality, and (the anthropology of) death. It gives a good overview of the main debates in these areas, with literature that is both new and older.” • Reading Religion
“Graham has succeeded in conveying a rich, complex, dynamic, nuanced, and moving picture of the ways in which individuals and communities engage with death and loss, and how the dead retain a social presence in the lives of the living.” • Christine Valentine, University of Bath
“Graham has gained unprecedented access to very personal and private situations in Ireland – such as wakes and house clearances after the death of a relative – and this makes for an interesting read, especially given her great narrative skills in describing the settings and scenarios of her ethnography.” • Elisabetta Viggiani, Queen’s University Belfast
List of Illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgements
Introduction: Contextualizing Death
Chapter 1. Field Boundaries
Chapter 2. Talking About The Dead
Chapter 3. Sensing The Memories And The Dead
Chapter 4. Objects Of The Dead
Chapter 5. Collective Remembrance
Chapter 6. Materiality In The Graveyard
Conclusion
Appendix