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The memento mori is a profoundly important aspect of religious reflection on the fleeting nature of life and the need to prepare spiritually for the inevitability of death. This essay considers two recent examples--the deaths of a world-renowned athletic celebrity and an obscure academic philosopher--and explores the contrasting images of death and its meaning found in religious and secular philosophical understandings., Author(s): Alexander Riley [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.253363.2, 0000 0001 2297 9828, Department of Sociology/Anthropology, Bucknell University, , 1 Dent Drive, 17837, Lewisburg, PA, USA The memento mori is a [...]

Author(s): Alexander Riley [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (Aff1) grid.253363.2, 0000 0001 2297 9828, Department of Sociology/Anthropology, Bucknell University, , 1 Dent Drive, 17837, Lewisburg, PA, USA Stéphane Courtois, Lénine, l'inventeur du [...]

Mythological thinking about events of mass violence is common in modern societies and this thinking frequently focuses on dynamics of 'us' and 'them.' Myths about the 9/11 terrorist attacks can be found on political right and left. On the right, the United Flight 93 memorial is described as an Islamist plot designed to denigrate the victims and venerate Islamist terrorism. On the left, the 9/11 attacks are viewed as orchestrations of an imperialist American government interested in vilifying and subjugating Muslims. Both myths are easily debunked with empirical data, but the power of mythological thinking about such events is such that data-based criticism has limited power to change the minds of adherents to myth., Author(s): Alexander Riley [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (Aff1) 0000 0001 2297 9828, grid.253363.2, Department of Sociology/Anthropology, Bucknell University, , 1 Dent Drive, 17837, Lewisburg, PA, USA American society, like every other [...]

Author(s): Alexander Riley [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) Department of Sociology/Anthropology, Bucknell University, 0000 0001 2297 9828, grid.253363.2, , 1 Dent Drive, 17837, Lewisburg, PA, USA One of a Dwindling Breed [...]

To authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2451.2009.01694.x Byline: Alexander Riley (1) Abstract: The classical Durkheimian understanding of violence has been significantly augmented in recent decades by a neo-Durkheimian analysis of the dual nature of the sacred and mass-mediated ritual. A good deal of the post-1970s thought of Jean Baudrillard, including his controversial writings on the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, was centrally concerned with the ways in which the media shape the social experience of violence. In this chapter I argue that his theoretical reconceptualisation of the meaning of suicide, which can reasonably be described as Durkheimian in its essentials, offers a useful tool for making sense of the fascination exerted on viewers by some mediated acts of self-destructive violence. Author Affiliation: (1)Bucknell University

To authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2451.2010.01739.x Byline: Alexander Riley (1) Author Affiliation: (1)Bucknell University, USA