Victorians Mourned with Vulcanized Rubber Jewelry
Nineteenth-century Anglo-American mourning rituals called for a period of sentimental sadness, but they also demanded an investment in clothing and jewelry.
Death by Crowding
In the aftermath of tragedies, it's easy to focus on the assignation of blame. But how well do we understand the causes of crushing crowds?
Bodies of the Titanic: Found and Lost Again
Ideas about economic class informed decisions about which recovered bodies would be preserved for land burial and which would be returned to the icy seas.
Fighting Over the Dead
There was more than one violent altercation at the cemetery when one side of the family wanted to move a dead relative, and the other didn’t.
Counting War’s Civilian Dead
Despite claims of precision strikes and the proliferation of smart bombs, the number of civilians killed in war appears staggeringly high.
The History of Postmortem Photography
Ever since the medium was invented, people have used photography to document loss.
The Philosophy of Posthumous Art
For some creators, death isn’t the end of their career. How should we think about completing and releasing their work afterward?
Does Dark Tourism Exploit Tragedy for Profit?
Thanatourism, as one scholar calls it, has a long history. And some historic sites of mass death do offer thoughtful educational experiences.
The Paris Morgue Provided Ghoulish Entertainment
With its huge windows framing the corpses on display, the morgue bore an uncomfortable resemblance to a department store.