Death and dying are quite ordinary phenomena which are typically regarded as extraordinary. There is a widespread tendency to assume abstract concepts rather than tangible life endings. But a holistic societal perspective has to transcend the level of subjective consternation and view death as a challenge as well as – in the social treatment of deaths – as a confirmation of normative concepts. With example spaces of death and dying, such as cemeteries, hospices, public viewings, pathological institutes, funeral homes, or crematories, the contributions to this volume show that the image of death is changing, giving rise to new semantic contexts.
