History of Emotions Prof. Schuele Spring 2023 Reflection Exercise Modern Grief and Grieving Rituals This reflection forms part of the assignment for th

History of Emotions Prof. Schuele

Spring 2023

Reflection Exercise

Modern Grief and Grieving Rituals

This reflection forms part of the assignment for the unit on grief. There are no right or wrong responses.

1. Describe grieving rituals in your family and/or community. Indicate which rituals are tied to formal religion or have a basis in a religion practiced by you, your family, and/or your community. For non-religious grieving rituals, describe their origin if possible. Indicate which grieving rituals require or usually involve the presence of the deceased body.

2. Which of the following grief events have you participated in: a funeral, a wake, a rosary, sitting shiva, scattering ashes, a memorial service, a burial, or another event not listed here? Describe the event, especially focusing on how the people in attendance acted/grieved. How did the grieving make you feel?

3. Have you ever written an obituary or some other memorialization of someone who has died? Was it easy or difficult to write? Do you ever read obituaries (such as in a printed newspaper)? What do you think makes for a good obituary? Have you ever given a spoken eulogy?

4. Have you participated in any of the following activities: buying a cemetery plot or crypt, buying a casket, arranging for/planning a grief event? Did these activities occur in the immediate aftermath of death, or as part of far-off planning? How did you feel?

5. Have you personally experienced grief over a death or other substantial loss? How long did you feel you were grieving? Did you “get over it”? Have you experienced additional emotions in conjunction with feeling grief? Which ones and why?

6. Have you observed death firsthand? What were the circumstances? How did you feel? Have you otherwise been in the visual presence of a dead body (other than at an open casket funeral or wake)? Was it embalmed? How did you feel?

7. Have you ever experienced grief over the death of someone you did not know personally? What motivated you to grieve? Did you participate in any grieving rituals? Did you “get over” this grief?

8. Have you experienced grief with regard to the pandemic? Was this because someone you knew died, or just generally due to the sheer number of deaths? How did this make you feel?

9. Have you ever visited a cemetery, aside from connection with a funeral? Where? Were you visiting the grave of someone you knew? What did you do when visiting the cemetery? Did you bring anything with you? How did you feel?

10. Have you visited or constructed any public mourning sites? Where? Where they formal (i.e., established by the government, an organization, etc.) or informal (grassroots, roadside, et