Rituals for the Dead

Religion and Community in the Medieval University of Paris, By William J. CourtenayBeing with the Dead: Burial, Ancestral Politics, and the Roots of Historical Consciousness, By Hans Ruin

Bibliographic Data

ID8207206
AuthorsCandi K Cann (0000-0001-7863-794X, Baylor University, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume88
Issue4
Pages1178-1181
Publication date2020-12-31
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of the American Academy of Religion (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-7189 • E-ISSN: 1477-4585
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/jaarel/lfaa050
OpenAlexW3098800655
LanguageEN
Citations received1

Many people today are wondering if the pandemic foretells the death of the university. With COVID-19, people are recognizing the dangers inherent in coming together in groups, and models and scenarios of the ways in which these gatherings might impact death rates on university campuses are running rampant like the virus. It is in this context that I recently read William J. Courtenay’s Rituals for the Dead: Religion and Community in the Medieval University of Paris and Hans Ruin’s Being with the Dead: Burial, Ancestral Politics, and the Roots of Historical Consciousness. At first glance, these two books seem vastly different from one another, including the disciplines of the two authors—Courtenay is a medieval historian at the University of Wisconsin—Madison, whereas Ruin is a professor of philosophy at Södertörn University in Stockholm—but both texts examine the intersection of death and the academy. Courtenay’s book examines the role of bequests...

Archaeology · Consciousness · Context (archaeology) · Epistemology · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Theology · Classics · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · Historical and Religious Studies of Rome · History · Law · Medieval Literature and History · Philosophy · Religious studies

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