About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherHarvard University Press

ISBN-100674002245

ISBN-139780674002241

eBay Product ID (ePID)1671796

Product Key Features

Book TitleCue for Passion-Grief and Its Political Uses

Number of Pages240 Pages

LanguageEnglish

TopicDeath & Dying, Death, Grief, Bereavement, Sociology / General, Emotions

Publication Year2000

IllustratorYes

GenreFamily & Relationships, Social Science, Psychology

AuthorGail Holst-Warhaft

FormatHardcover

Dimensions

Item Height0.9 in

Item Weight15.9 Oz

Item Length9.5 in

Item Width6.3 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

LCCN00-021841

Dewey Edition21

TitleLeadingThe

ReviewsThe meaning of grief, its public expression and the ways in which it has been manipulated for political effect, is the subject of this intriguing book. The strength of The Cue for Passion lies in the range of texts Gail Holst-Warhaft examines and the number of contexts she explores in order to consider the place of grief in Western society.

Dewey Decimal393/.9

Table Of ContentIntroduction: The Theater of Mourning 1. Tears 2. Laughter 3. Bones 4. Disappearance 5. Plague 6. Memorials Afterthoughts Notes References Index

SynopsisHaving set aside age-old ways of mourning, how do people in the modern world cope with tragic loss? Using traditional mourning rituals as an instructive touchstone, Gail Holst-Warhaft explores the ways sorrow is managed in our own times and how mourning can be manipulated for social and political ends. Since ancient times political and religious authorities have been alert to the dangerously powerful effects of communal expressions of grief--while valuing mourning rites as a controlled outlet for emotion. But today grief is often seen as a psychological problem: the bereaved are encouraged to seek counseling or take antidepressants. At the same time, we have witnessed some striking examples of manipulation of shared grief for political effect. One instance is the unprecedented concentration on recovery of the remains of Americans killed in the Vietnam War. In Buenos Aires the Mothers of the Disappeared forged the passion of their grief into a political weapon. Similarly the gay community in the United States, transformed by grief and rage, not only lobbied effectively for AIDS victims but channeled their emotions into fresh artistic expression. It might be argued that, in contrast to earlier cultures, modern society has largely abdicated its role in managing sorrow. But in The Cue for Passion we see that some communities, moved by the intensity of their grief, have utilized it to gain ground for their own agendas.

LC Classification NumberGT3390.H65 2000