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Thanatology

  • Claire Callaghan
    King's University College Library
    519-433-3491 x4390
     

Databases

  • CINAHL Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature
    Provides comprehensive coverage of journal literature related to nursing and the allied health disciplines. (1982-current)
  • ProQuest Psychology Journals
    ProQuest Psychology Journals features the full text of three hundred professional and scholarly journals in psychology and psychiatry, and selective coverage in education, social work, sociology, and related disciplines. Time coverage varies. For some publications, full-text coverage dates from 1992; full-image coverage, from 1987; and text + graphics, from 1995.
  • ProQuest Social Sciences

    This is an important database as it searches 28 other databases such as International Bibliographies of the Social Sciences, PAIS, PsycInfo, ProQuest Research Library, and Sociological Abstracts.

  • PubMed

    PubMed is an international bibliographic database of over 4500 biomedical journals. It covers the fields of medicine, nursing and the health care system from 1966 to the present. Link outs to select full text articles are also available from PubMed.

  • Religion and Philosophy Collection

    Religion and Philosophy Collection is a database indexing literature on world religions, biblical studies, and religious history. Useful for the more "speculative" aspects of thanatology.

  • SocINDEX
    SocINDEX indexes all the sub-cisciplines of sociology, including cultural sociology, ethnic and racial studies, gender studies, marriage and family, religion, social psychology, violence, and many others. (1895-current)
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Encyclopedias

  • The Death and Afterlife Book: The Encyclopedia of Death, Near Death and Life After Death
    An encyclopedia dealing in the afterlife and associated phenomena.  Though it is by nature speculative, the text is professionally written, and contains quite lucid discussions on religion, spirituality, and near-death experiences. 
  • Death and the Afterlife: A Cultural Encyclopedia
    While the Death and the Afterlife print book focuses on the speculative elements of death, Death and the Afterlife the e-book is more preoccupied with the customs and rites associated with death across a variety of cultures. Grounded, literate, and succinct.
  • Encyclopedia of Death and Dying
    An encyclopedia which reads more like a dictionary. This work takes great pains to define, delineate, and differentiate the myriad of terms commonly associated with death. More technical than other resources of its type and stronger for it.
  • Encyclopedia of Death and the Human Experience
    Two volume print set, also available electronically, which includes appendices with death-related websites. The online version also includes a reader’s guide, alphabetical and subject searches. 
  • Macmillan Encyclopedia of Death and Dying
    What distinguishes this encyclopedia from others in the field of death reference is its treatment of death in the modern context.  While not as succinct as other death encyclopedias, the Macmillan Encyclopedia will suit those seeking more thorough and immersive content. It is also available electronically.
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Handbooks

  • Handbook of Thanatology
    One of the better resources authored on Thanatology and Thanatological concerns. While depth isn't its strong suit,  the newcomer to thanatology can expect a lucid, clearly written resource. Also useful as a supplementary text.
  • Handbook of Death & Dying
    A scholarly, wide-ranging treatment of death.  Addresses a surprising variety of topics (albeit in a staid, academic tone).  Watch for entries on the undead, thanatological crime, and an entirely straight-faced exploration of taxidermy in America.
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Multimedia

  • Constructivist Therapy
    Psychotherapist Robert Neimeyer and Jon Carlson open this video with a discussion of psychotherapy and constructivist therapy. This is followed by a therapy session with a real client where Dr. Neimeyer utilizes constructivist therapy techniques to help a woman deal with the loss of her son.
  • Constructivist Therapy Over Time
    Over the course of six sessions, Dr.Neimeyer helps a client to make new sense of her life and work through her grief, while reconstructing a sustaining bond with her deceased child. These powerful sessions show how the client moves from near constant sadness to a new sense of hope, vitality, and strength.
  • Grief and the Quest for Meaning
    An audio course using a set of 5 CDs, lead by Robert Neimeyer, which presents grief therapy as a means of helping clients reconstruct meaning in their lives. It explores the latest diagnostic and therapeutic procedures for treating grief and teaches the therapist how to listen beneath the story clients tell themselves and others about their loss to help them accommodate the harsh realities of loss and still find the seeds for restoring stability growing anew.
  • Helping Children Grieve
    Experts Khris Ford and Paula D'Arcy help shed light on how adults and children grieve differently, how a parent can help a child grieve while they themselves are grieving, how to tell the truth about death to children, and more.
  • On Our Own Terms: Moyers on Dying
    A four dvd set.  Includes “Living with Dying”, “A Different Kind of Care”, “A Death of One’s Own”, and “Time to Change”.  The series is anchored by journalist Bill Moyers and is produced by Public Affairs Television.
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Statistics and Data

  • Death/Mortality Statistics
    This page includes death and mortality statistics provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The statistics are reliable, regularly updated, and include figures dating back to 2002.
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Web Sites

  • Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC): The Thanatology Association
    An organization providing professional certification for practitioners in the area(s) of thanatology and death & dying studies. Of note for students is the page's "Resources" section, which is extensive. Well-oranized and easy to navigate.
  • Bereaved Families of Ontario
    A non-profit organization which provides support services to families throughout Southwestern Ontario who have experienced the death of a child or children. There are helpful links to other resources including the provincial site, http://www.bereavedfamilies.net/
  • Death, Loss & Grief - Santa Rosa Junior College Library
    Contains a listing of online resources having to do with death, loss, and grief.  The page is modest, but does include annotations for each of its links.  Valuable for those seeking a quick orientation to death studies.
  • Medline Plus - End of Life Issues
    Medline Plus - which is a service of the National Library of Medicine – offers its take on end of life issues.  Particularly valuable are the “Research” and “Reference Shelf” sections, which provide students with resources fit for use in essays or academic papers.
  • Palliative Medicine Handbook
    Essentially an online textbook of palliative medicine.  Reputable and extremely well-referenced, but aimed squarely at professionals and para-professionals.
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