Professor Presents Paper on "Personalizing Death"

Dr. Phyllis Kitzerow, Westminster College professor of sociology, recently presented research at the Southwestern Sociological Association meeting in Albuquerque.

"At this point, this is a photo essay based on the examination of two cemeteries in very different areas," Kitzerow said. "The tombstones in each cemetery reflect the individual information conveyed by the decoration of the tombstone and the glimpse of the lifestyle of the individual, or couple, it represents. Seeing tombstones as clues to this lifestyle and attempts to represent it, reminds us of the effort that goes into memorializing death.

"While the shared symbols of religiosity and family are present at both cemeteries, the differences are apparent as well. The rural culture of the Pennsylvania mountains comes through in the emphasis on hunting and fishing and bingo cards, while the architectural and artistic elements of the graves in the Santa Fe cemetery come through despite the lack of resources shown in the construction of many of the grave markers. So we end up with two very different cemeteries both echoing the attempt to personalize death.

"Although I gave this paper as an exploratory paper, it's related to the earlier work on obituaries with Dr. Shannon Smithey [Westminster assistant professor of sociology] and will be jointly authored when we move further into this topic."

Kitzerow, who has been with Westminster College since 1978, earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin and her master's and Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh.

E-mail Kitzerow at kitzerpg@westminster.edu for more information. 

Dr. Phyllis Kitzerow