Denial, solidarity and protest. Changing attitudes toward death in pandemic times
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Keywords

Death mentalities
Philippe Ariès
funerals
rituals
cultural patterns

How to Cite

Hoondert, M. J. (2023). Denial, solidarity and protest. Changing attitudes toward death in pandemic times. International Journal of Organizations, (30), 27–48. https://doi.org/10.17345/rio30.27-48

Abstract

In this article, I explore the ways in which people have dealt with death since the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in the Netherlands. Using a dossier with newspaper articles, tweets, Facebook posts, books, online stories, and interviews, I trace cultural patterns or so-called death mentalities. The theoretical framework is based on both P. Ariès’s and M.H. Jacobsen’s characteristics of different ways of dealing with death, which involve both ideas and practices. A tentative conclusion is that, on the one hand, there is denial of death; on the other hand, changes in ritual indicate a protest against death caused by the coronavirus.

https://doi.org/10.17345/rio30.27-48
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