The Death Café Movement

This sociological work examines the phenomenon of the Death Café, a regular gathering of strangers from all walks of life who engage in death talk over coffee, tea, and desserts. Using insightful theoretical frameworks, Fong explores the common themes that constitute a death identity and reveals how Café attendees are inspired to live in light of death because of death. Fong examines how the participants' embrace of self-sovereignty and confrontation of mortality revive their awareness of and appreciation for shared humanity. While divisive identity politics continue to foster neo-tribalisms and the construction of myriad others, Fong makes visible how those who participate in Death Cafés end up building community while being inspired toward living more fulfilling lives. Through death talk unfettered from systemic control, they end up feeling more agency over their own lived lives as well as being more conscious of the possibility of a good death. According to Fong, participants in this phenomenon offer us a sublime way to confront the facticity of our own demiseby gathering as one.

Presents the first sustained sociological analysis of death cafes, a growing phenomenon across the world Employs a range of sociological theories that are notable for their usual absence in death studies Based on extensive research from over 2 years spent observing death cafe meetings Aptly places 'talk' at the center of the analysis

Autorentext
Jack Fong is Associate Professor of Sociology at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, USA.

Inhalt

1. Coffee and Death.- 2. Baby Boomers and the Death Café.- 3. Habermas' Theory of Communicative Action and the Colonization of the Lifeworld.- 4. Death Café Communicative Action.- 5. Death Sentiments and Death Themes.- 6. Enhancing Habermas with Erich Fromm and Kurt Wolff.- 7. Enhancing Habermas with Ray Oldenburg.- 8. Decolonizing the Lifeworld.