Dying and death in Canada / Herbert C. Northcott and Donna M. Wilson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Northcott, Herbert C., 1947-

Contributor:

Wilson, Donna M., Ph. D.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Death--Canada.

Death.

Death--Social aspects--Canada.

Death--Psychological aspects.

Death--Social aspects.

Canada.

Physical Description:

214 pages ; 23 cm

Edition:

Second edition.

Place of Publication:

Peterborough, Ont. : Broadview Press, 2008.

Summary:

Death, like sexuality, is ever present but was rarely discussed before the 1960s. Since then there has been a growing discourse in the social sciences and helping professions about how to discuss the social construction of death. Dying and death in a society reflect the material and social conditions of that society. In turn, the society and culture in which we live influences what we think and do about dying and death. Similarly, dying is both a personal experience and a social role given shape and meaning by social practices and cultural definitions. The bereaved grieve and mourn in both personal and social terms, and the meaning assigned to dying and death is both personally and socially constructed.

This new edition of Dying and Death in Canada is designed for students who wish to learn about dying and death, for practioners who work with the dying and the bereaved, for the dying and the bereaved themselves, and for the general public. Part I explores the causes of dying and death in Canada both historically and at present. Part II examines the collective constructions of-that is, the social and cultural response to-dying and death in Canada. Part III discusses dying and death from the personal points of view of the dying and the bereaved.

Contents:

Part 1 The Demography and Epidemiology of Dying and Death

Chapter 1 The History of Dying and Death in Canada 19

Dying and Death among Aboriginal People in Canada in the Pre-Contact Era 20

Dying and Death in Canada Following the Arrival of the Europeans 25

Dying and Death in Canada in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries 31

Chapter 2 Dying and Death in Canada Today 39

Causes of Dying and Death 39

Causes of Death by Age 45

The Dying Process 46

Factors Affecting the Dying Process 48

Age at Death 52

Premature Dying and Death 56

Other Influences on Dying and Death in Canada 57

Location of Death 60

Part 2 The Social and Cultural Response to Dying and Death

Chapter 3 Dying and Death in the Context of Canadian Social Institutions 67

The Family 68

Religion 71

The Health Care System 73

Legal System 80

The Funeral Industry 87

Chapter 4 Dying and Death in the Context of Canadian Culture 91

Selected Works of Literature 92

Language 95

Folklore, Popular Culture, and Contemporary Media 96

The Secularization, Professionalization, Medicalization, and Bureaucratization of Dying and Death 102

Making Sense of Death 104

Different Types of Death 106

Dying and Death as Social Stigma 108

Social Rituals Accompanying Dying and Death 109

Cultural Constructions of Dying and Death 110

Coast Salish 110

Cree 111

Dene 111

Inuit 112

Muslim 112

Jewish 114

Chinese 115

Ethnic Viet and Lao Hmong 116

Western European and Euro-North American 117

Part 3 The Individual Response to Dying and Death

Chapter 5 Individual Perspectives on Dying and Death 123

Expectations of Dying and Death 123

Dying Trajectories 125

Preferences for Dying and Death 126

Fear of Dying 129

Awareness of Dying 130

The Dying Process 131

Personal Accounts of "Brushes with Death" 132

Fear of Death and Denial of Death 140

The Religious Solution 141

The Spiritual Solution 141

Risking Death 142

Choosing Death 143

Preferred Location of Dying and Death 145

Living with Dying 147

Chapter 6 Survivor Perspectives on Dying and Death 151

Grief and Bereavement 153

Death of a Child 154

Death of a Spouse 163

Death of a Parent 167

Death of a Grandparent 170

Death of a Friend 170

A Second-Order Account of Dying 173

Pathways for the Grieving 175.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781551118734

1551118734

OCLC:

219937987