Mostly Dead is Still Slightly Alive: Premature Burial, Dracula, and the Rise of the Cremation Movement
A recording of this event will be added soon. Please check back!
The fear of premature burial rose to a fever-pitch in 18th- and 19th-century Europe as a result of various developments in science, religion, and urban living. The more doctors and scientists learned about death, the more they realized they did not know, and when combined with secular challenges to faith and urban challenges to burial, the reactions were strong and wide-ranging, from scientific practices to legal changes and technological innovations.
At the heart of the problem is the breakdown of the perceived contract between the living and the dead. In this presentation, Dr. Tandy will show how the anxieties this caused are manifest in two late-19th-century phenomena: the rise of the cremation movement, and the publication and popularity of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula.
This presentation will be held virtually via Zoom. Following the lecture, guests will be able to engage in a Q&A with Dr. Tandy.
Presenter:
Dr. Ann Tandy is a Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Minnesota. She teaches Death Studies courses and British Literature from Beowulf to the present. She has given many presentations, both academic and general interest, on garden cemeteries, anatomical models, anatomy theaters, Egyptology, and archeology both urban and imperial.
Dark Reflections: A Scholarly Series on Horror, Folklore, Death, and the Macabre
Oct 28 - Nov 1. Confront your fears and discover the scholarly side of the supernatural through this Halloween event series. Join us for events, both virtual and in-person, that promises to enlighten, entertain, and send shivers down your spine.