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Thesis
DEATH IN THE PORT CITY
University of West Florida
Master of Arts (MA), University of West Florida
2018
Abstract
Gravestones are a physical reminder left by the living to commemorate the life of the deceased. The markers that commemorate the dead can also be used to understand a society's cultural ideas about death such as in regard to religion and social status. The Church Street Graveyard is Mobile, Alabama's oldest existing cemetery, with burials first occurring in 1819 and ending in 1898. As a port city, Mobile was home to people of numerous religious affiliations. Many of the city's wealthiest citizens and families were members of the Protestant faith. The Catholic Church in Mobile was associated with the poorer immigrants in the city and was therefore not favored by city elites. This research study examines if the association of wealth and religion during life is reflected in the gravestones found in the Church Street Graveyard. The size, decorative motifs, and text of the gravestones in both the Protestant and Catholic sections of the graveyard are compared and analyzed using chi-square tests. The results show that gravestones in the Catholic and Protestant sections of the Church Street Graveyard do not reflect a concern for exhibiting status, and instead they display a level of equality between the two religions.
Details
- Title
- DEATH IN THE PORT CITY
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Publisher
- University of West Florida
- Format
- text
- Copyright
- http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/
- Identifiers
- 99380090841506600
- Academic Unit
- Anthropology
- Language
- English
- Awarding Institution
- University of West Florida; Master of Arts (MA)
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), University of West Florida