Source: Albert 1xbet online games login , 785-532-0436, aham@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Tyler Sharp, 785-532-2535, tmsharp@k-state.edu
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Accepting the end: Bucket lists, cemeteries show changing attitudes toward 1xbet online games login
MANHATTAN -- Bucket lists are more than goals or accomplishments a person wants to achieve before dying. They are also a way for people to discuss 1xbet online games login -- even though most of us probably would rather avoid doing so, according to a Kansas State University historian.
"Much of American culture in the 20th century has been engagement in 1xbet online games login avoidance," said Albert Hamscher, the university's Kenneth S. Davis professor of history. "Bucket lists signify a willingness at least to discuss 1xbet online games login again. But note how it is purely secular in its contours. It focuses on the here and now rather than the hereafter, which has been how people typically frame 1xbet online games login ."
1xbet online games login avoidance is a relatively new phenomenon in Western society, according to Hamscher. Philippe Aries, a 20th-century French historian, referred to the attitude as "the forbidden 1xbet online games login " in his book, "Western Attitudes Toward 1xbet online games login from the Middle Ages to Present." Instead of being exposed to it, which commonly happened in Europe until recent generations, people have been shielded from 1xbet online games login . This avoidance became more popular with medical advances and increased secularization.
"Religion has always given 1xbet online games login a frame of reference," Hamscher said. "Absent that, 1xbet online games login becomes a frightening topic. 1xbet online games login can appear frightening in that context because it has no larger explanation. It's an existential black hole."
Medical advances have also facilitated this shift through isolation of 1xbet online games login to the elderly and those in institutional settings. Hamscher said the remoteness from the 1xbet online games login process can often result in a person not experiencing 1xbet online games login in their family for 20 or 30 years.
Hamscher's interest in historical attitudes toward 1xbet online games login and dying was piqued by visits to cemeteries, which he said help demonstrate changes in attitudes toward 1xbet online games login and dying during a long period of time. This prompted much of Hamscher's published work related to 1xbet online games login and dying, with an emphasis on pictorial headstones.
His research has affirmed many of Aries' observations, especially comparing modern and older sections of cemeteries. Older cemetery sections often feature standing headstones, which presume a person will trim the grass and properly maintain them, 1xbet online games login . Walking paths provide similar evidence, along with flora and trees and shrubs. The occasional bench creates an atmosphere where mourners can convene with the dead, he said.
Meanwhile, modern cemeteries often feature little greenery and flat headstones. Few walking paths dot the landscape and the presumption appears that no one will visit, 1xbet online games login .
"The least intrusive elements of the cemetery are the dead themselves," Hamscher said. "That's a perfect example of the forbidden 1xbet online games login -- that even in cemeteries, 1xbet online games login is not in the forefront."
Hamscher specializes in early modern France and the cultural history of U.S. cemeteries. He has published four books and a variety of scholarly articles, essays and book chapters on early modern French history, pictorial headstones and memorial park cemeteries. He teaches courses on both European and French history. He also teaches 1xbet online games login and Dying in History, a course he developed.