BackStory with the American History Guys » death and dying http://backstoryradio.org VFH Radio at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities Sat, 04 Feb 2012 22:40:59 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Public radio that explores the historical context of todays news. BackStory with the American History Guys no BackStory with the American History Guys vafh-web@virginia.edu vafh-web@virginia.edu (BackStory with the American History Guys) Copyright Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, All rights reserved. VFH Radio at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities history, ed ayers, brian baloah, peter onuf, vfh, humanities, BackStory with the American History Guys » death and dying http://backstory.vfhblogs.org/files/powerpress/backstory_144.jpg http://backstoryradio.org Grave Matters: A History of Death and Mourning http://backstoryradio.org/grave-subjects-a-history-of-death-and-mourning/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=grave-subjects-a-history-of-death-and-mourning http://backstoryradio.org/grave-subjects-a-history-of-death-and-mourning/#comments Fri, 28 May 2010 13:46:50 +0000 VFHwebdev http://www.backstoryradio.org/?p=328 Currier & Ives, "The Soldier's Memorial," ca. 1863, Library of CongressOn Memorial Day, we pay public tribute to those who lost their lives fighting for our country. But how do we live with the memory of the dead the rest of the year?

In this hour, the History Guys explore Americans’ changing attitudes about death. A Gold Star Mother explains why she thinks there should be more media coverage of military deaths in Iraq. Historian Drew Gilpin Faust talks about how the Civil War altered the American way of dying. And BackStory‘s own Ed Ayers tours Richmond’s Hollywood Cemetery — and visits his own gravesite (see photos here).


Web Exclusive: Wisconsin Death Trip

In 1967, Michael Lesy stumbled upon an otherworldly collection of photographs from late-19th century Wisconsin. He talks about some of the darker images and their meanings in this audio slide show.

Web Exclusive: Extended Interview with Drew Gilpin Faust

19th Century Guy Ed Ayers speaks with Drew Gilpin Faust about how the Civil War altered Americans’ attitudes about death. Listen here.

Related links:

  • More information on the the media ban at Dover Air Force Base
  • Slideshow about the luminaries buried in Richmond’s Hollywood Cemetery
  • Article about the contested history of San Francisco cemeteries
  • Silent film of a Memorial Day Parade in Cornwall, NY, 1920
  • An excerpt and review of Drew Gilpin Faust’s “This Republic of Suffering”
  • NYT op-ed about the origins of Memorial Day
  • PBS documentary about the growing home-funeral movement
  • Two blog posts from the VFH-based Encyclopedia of Virginia about photographing war dead, then & now
eighthnoteCheck out the music in our “Death and Mourning” show.


]]> http://backstoryradio.org/grave-subjects-a-history-of-death-and-mourning/feed/ 17 death and dying,decoration day,funeral,history of memorial day,holidays,hollywood cemetery,memorial day,mortality,religion,remembrance,traditions On Memorial Day we ask -- how have we lived with the dead throughout American history? Have improvements in public health and medicine made death less a part of our everyday lives? (http://backstoryradio.org/files/2009/03/wpa-poster.jpg)(http://backstoryradio.org/files/2009/05/soldiers_memorial-229x300.jpg)On Memorial Day, we pay public tribute to those who lost their lives fighting for our country. But how do we live with the memory of the dead the rest of the year? In this hour, the History Guys explore Americans' changing attitudes about death. A Gold Star Mother explains why she thinks there should be more media coverage of military deaths in Iraq. Historian Drew Gilpin Faust talks about how the Civil War altered the American way of dying. And BackStory's own Ed Ayers tours Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery -- and visits his own gravesite (see photos here (http://www.backstoryradio.org/2009/05/eds-hollywood-cemetery-tour/)). Web Exclusive: Wisconsin Death Trip In 1967, Michael Lesy stumbled upon an otherworldly collection of photographs from late-19th century Wisconsin. He talks about some of the darker images and their meanings in this audio slide show (http://www.backstoryradio.org/2009/05/wisconsin-death-trip/). Web Exclusive: Extended Interview with Drew Gilpin Faust 19th Century Guy Ed Ayers speaks with Drew Gilpin Faust about how the Civil War altered Americans' attitudes about death. Listen here (http://www.backstoryradio.org/2009/05/web-extra-extended-interview-with-drew-faust/). Related links: * More information on the the media ban (http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/news/20090226/index.htm) at Dover Air Force Base * Slideshow (http://www.hollywoodcemetery.org/history-slideshow.html) about the luminaries buried in Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery (http://www.hollywoodcemetery.org/history-slideshow.html) * Article (http://west.stanford.edu/docs/unmaking_historic_spaces/pp_26_47_shelton.pdf) about the contested history of San Francisco cemeteries * Silent film (http://www.archive.org/details/cornwall_ny_celebration) of a Memorial Day Parade in Cornwall, NY, 1920 * An excerpt (http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl/display.pperl?isbn=9780375703836&view=excerpt) and review (http://www.thenation.com/article/battle-pieces)of Drew Gilpin Faust's "This Republic of Suffering" * NYT op-ed about the origins of Memorial Day (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/28/opinion/28mon4.html?_r=1) * PBS documentary about the growing home-funeral (http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2004/afamilyundertaking/) movement * Two (http://blog.encyclopediavirginia.org/2008/07/10/fresh-from-the-field/) blog posts (http://blog.encyclopediavirginia.org/2008/07/01/here-was-a-city-of-the-dead/) from the VFH-based Encyclopedia of Virginia about photographing war dead, then & now (http://blog.encyclopediavirginia.org/2008/07/10/fresh-from-the-field/) (http://backstoryradio.org/files/2009/01/eighthnote.jpg)Check out the music (http://www.backstoryradio.org/2009/03/backstory-show-tunes#Death Music) in our "Death and Mourning" show. BackStory with the American History Guys no 54:56 Wisconsin Death Trip http://backstoryradio.org/wisconsin-death-trip/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=wisconsin-death-trip http://backstoryradio.org/wisconsin-death-trip/#comments Fri, 22 May 2009 21:06:29 +0000 cm6ay http://www.backstoryradio.org/?p=374 <<back to main episode page…

Book Jacket for "Wisconsin Death Trip," by Michael Lesy, 1973

In 1973, Michael Lesy published an artful arrangement of late-19th century newspaper clippings and otherworldly photographs from a small town in Wisconsin. He called it Wisconsin Death Trip. Photos of children in coffins–along with text chronicling murder, insanity, disease, and suicide–can be shocking to a 21st century audience. But what was it like for the people who lived through it? This audio slide show includes an interview with Lesy and images from the book, in addition to other images of Victorian post-mortem photography.

Related Links:

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