As life expectancy changed, as medicine improved, as wars became deadlier, as incomes increased and classism moderated, how did Americans’ views on and reactions to death evolve? In this lively presentation (pun intended), we will explore the shifting views and experiences of death, dying, and mortality in the United States throughout the pivotal period of the nineteenth century. The expectations of longevity, the sense of mourning and loss, and the ways in which life and understanding of afterlife were affected by changes in the health, medicine, war, and dying of the period. This lecture will be given by Fr. W. Patrick Edwards, Rector at Saint John’s Episcopal Church in Southampton. If you need assistance setting up Zoom, contact techsupport@myrml.org. Co-Sponsored with the Rogers Memorial Library.
