title: The case for a sociology of dying, death, and bereavement.
abstract: Dying, death, and bereavement do not occur in a social vacuum. How individuals and groups experience these phenomena will be largely influenced by the social context in which they occur. To develop an adequate understanding of dying, death, and bereavement we therefore need to incorporate a sociological perspective into our analysis. This article examines why a sociological perspective is necessary and explores various ways in which sociology can be of practical value in both intellectual and professional contexts. A case study comparing psychological and sociological perspectives is offered by way of illustration.
authors.affiliation: a Avenue Consulting Ltd , Wrexham , Wales , UK.
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.affiliation: b Social Work Consultant , Melbourne , Australia.
authors.forename: June
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Allan
authors.affiliation: c Carverhill Counselling and Consulting , Saskatoon , Canada.
authors.forename: Philip A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Carverhill
authors.affiliation: d Sociology , University of Wisconsin-La Crosse , La Crosse , Wisconsin , USA.
authors.forename: Gerry R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Cox
authors.affiliation: e School of Nursing , University of Victoria , Victoria , Canada.
authors.forename: Betty
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Davies
authors.affiliation: f Division of Psychology and Counseling , College of New Rochelle , Poughkeepsie , New York , USA.
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Doka
authors.affiliation: g Public Health , Ben-Gurion University of the Negev , Beer Sheva , Israel.
authors.forename: Leeat
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Granek
authors.affiliation: h Department of Interdisciplinary Programs , King's University College at Western University , London , Ontario , Canada.
authors.forename: Darcy
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.affiliation: i Division of Psychology , Nanyang Technological University , Singapore.
authors.forename: Andy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.affiliation: j Department of Religious Studies , Webster University , St. Louis , Missouri , USA.
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Klass
authors.affiliation: k Faculty of Health Studies , University of Bradford , Bradford , UK.
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Small
authors.affiliation: l Faculty of Human Sciences , University of Würzburg , Würzburg , Germany.
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wittkowski
mesh_terms: D001293:Attitude to Death; D001601:Bereavement; D003643:Death; D006117:Grief; D006801:Humans; D012961:Sociology