From Cathedral to Supermarket

Mourning, Silence and Solidarity

Bibliographic Data

ID3353769
AuthorsTony Walter (0000-0001-9571-5225, University of Reading, corresponding author)
Year2001
Volume49
Issue4
Pages494-511
Publication date2001-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Sociological Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0038-0261 • E-ISSN: 1467-954X
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1111/1467-954x.00344
OpenAlexW2036771369
LanguageEN
Citations received20
References cited25

Where do mobile, individualistic members of modern Britain spontaneously congregate, eg, for public mourning, and what does this tell us about the construction of solidarity and a sense of society? Where flowers were laid and books of condolence provided after the death of Princess Diana in 1997 provides a case study. A survey of 147 cities, towns and villages found that churches were important in cities and villages, but elsewhere, town halls, war memorials, shops and public buildings provided the magnets to bring people together. The role of war memorials and supermarkets is then examined in an analysis of the 1995 revival of the 11th November silence for the war dead. This indicates a) the payoff for companies in showing that they care, b) the importance of practical logistics of space and time. In a plural and secular society, ritual 'words against death' become 'silences against death'. These congregations of contemporary nomads may not be full-blown Durkheimian rites, but they are a representation of existing society at the same time as representing popular hope for a better society

Aesthetics · Memorialization · Plural · Political science · Politics · Public space · Silence · Sociology · Solidarity · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · History · Law · Memory, Trauma, and Commemoration

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