Western Attitudes to Death (#005)

Gone are the days of stepping over plague-ridden corpses in the street, popcorn in hand, on your way to catch the latest execution. While that’s obviously a good thing, it’s had some interesting effects on how we view death as a society. 

Join Maria and Ammo as they journey through Philippe Ariès’ seminal ‘Western Attitudes Toward Death from the Middle Ages to the Present.’ This book serves as a guide to how society has viewed death over four distinct eras, ‘Tame Death,’ ‘One’s Own Death,’ ‘Remote and Imminent death,’ and ‘Forbidden Death.’

And if those aren’t ominous enough, there might just be an updated era, too...

Happy listening!

Show notes:

• Western Attitudes Toward Death from the Middle Ages to the Present
• Spectacular Death (PDF Download)
• Nine weird and wonderful facts about death and funeral practices via The Conversation
• Black Death Facts
• Every time “family” is said in the Fast & Furious franchise