“I recommend anti-depressants.” A study in the social denial of death

Abstract

In this article I intend to address the topic of psycho-social interaction with bereaved relatives after the unnatural death of a loved one in Germany. The article raises methodological questions of the connection between affectedness and analytical resources in death studies and tries to combine both approaches. Inverting the classical observational stance in victims’ studies, as a mourner, I could watch and feel the others’ fear and pain “regarding the pain of others.” Susan Sontag’s moral analysis is taken as a second-order observation while the observational position in this case, is one of stronger instead of lower emotional attachment.