“Postmortem Photography: Historical and Cultural Reflections”.

This paper examines how postmortem/funerary photography has created an historical as well as a cultural construction of visual images in the grieving process. Social practices of the display and use of postmortem photos are compared from the 19th through 20th century to assess changes in societal attitudes over time. A new grieving ritual is observed which emerged for the post-September 11th terrorist attack. Modern rituals reflect the continued need to memorialize our loved ones using a cherished keepsake, souvenir or memento, such as a photograph. This paper acknowledges the rarity of postmortem photography in the 21st century as a socially acceptable practice; the value of using postmortem photos as an historical and cultural grieving ritual; and the need for further research that examines attitudes towards the use of postmortem photography as an acceptable bereavement practice in contemporary U.S. culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]