Death and Social Policy in Challenging Times - Paperback

by Kate Woodthorpe (Editor), Liam Foster (Editor)

Back Jacket

The study of death has the capacity to bring together a range of policy areas. Yet death is often overlooked within policy debates in the UK and beyond, and within gerontology. Bringing together a range of scholars engaged in policy associated with death, this collection provides a holistic account of how death factors in social policy. Within this, issues covered include inheritance, palliative care, euthanasia, funeral costs, bereavement support, marginalised deaths and disposal practices. At the heart of the book, the volume recognises that the issues identified are likely to intensify and expand over the next twenty years, as death rates continue to rise.

Author Biography

Liam Foster is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Sheffield, UK. His research interests focus on funeral provision, pensions and theories of ageing. He is a member of the UK Social Policy Association Executive Committee and forthcoming Managing Editor of Social Policy and Society.
Kate Woodthorpe is a Senior Lecturer in sociology in the Department of Social and Policy Sciences at the University of Bath, UK. She is a member of the University's Centre for Death and Society and has undertaken research and published on funeral practice and cost, cemetery usage and mortuaries. She is an active member of the British Sociological Association Study Group for the Social Aspects of Death, Dying and Bereavement.