Overview
Political, economic, social, cultural and technological changes have led to profound transformations in the ways that death and loss are perceived and managed in contemporary society. Over the last few decades, the long term shift to chronic illness as a major causal factor has significantly increased the time scale of dying. Most people die in institutions and 'care' is typically medical. Many communities and ordinary citizens now relinquish control and involvement to experts in the last stages of life. At global and local levels, however, new arrangements are emerging to govern the changing face of death, and a reorientation model is being developed to counter claims of the 'creeping medicalisation' of death and dying. With an international authorship and scope, this book illustrates the interlinking nature of society, death and loss, and it gives examples of governance that promotes the empowerment, participation and the increasing need for the involvement of ordinary people and communities in differing social and cultural contexts. Chapters come from collaborations of academics and practitioners in end of life care - from sociologists, anthropologists or the arts but also from nursing, social work, or medicine. The result is a reflective, academic and practical discussion of the outline of the problem we face in the contemporary governance of death, and an exploration of the critical, theoretical and practice-based ways forward for us all.
Full Product Details
Author: Steve Conway (Senior Lecturer in Research Methods, School of Health and Social Care, Teesside University, Middlesbrough, UK)
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 17.50cm
, Height: 1.00cm
, Length: 24.40cm
Weight: 0.318kg
ISBN: 9780199586172
ISBN 10: 0199586179
Pages: 172
Publication Date: 10 March 2011
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: To order
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Reviews
The text is a useful and unashamedly scholarly and critical appraisal of the changing emphasis, presentation and control, of death in the 21st century. Although the book stresses a sociological reading, that is not to say it should be limited to sociologists; this is a book that will be interesting and informative for anyone conceivably involved with caring for the dying and their family.
This is a useful and accessible book, with relevance to a wide readership. It provides some fascinating insights into practices of death and loss. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care The text is a useful and unashamedly scholarly and critical appraisal of the changing emphasis, presentation and control, of death in the 21st century. Although the book stresses a sociological reading, that is not to say it should be limited to sociologists; this is a book that will be interesting and informative for anyone conceivably involved with caring for the dying and their family.
Author Information
Steve Conway is a Senior Lecturer in Research Methods in the School of Health & Social Care at Teesside University. Steve has a background in social science. From 1990 to 2002 he was a Lecturer in Social Science at the University of Lincoln. Between 2002 and 2004 Steve was a Research Manager in the Community Evaluation Research Group, Social Futures Institute at Teesside University. His primary research interests are in health governance including death, dying, loss and care, social attitudes to ageing, illness and death amongst older people, and health inequalities.
