Living with Dying: Everyday Cultures of Dying within Family Life in Britain, c.1900s-1950s

在20世纪的英国，死亡既是一种非同寻常的经历，也是一种“日常”经历。虽然亲人的死亡对相关家庭来说是一件重大的情感事件，但在更广泛的社区中，死亡是经常发生的。这一研究时期从1900年到1950年，包括两次世界大战以及核时代和冷战的到来。20世纪上半叶，英国大多数人群的预期寿命都在增加。粗死亡率从1901-05年的16.0‰下降到1941-2005年的12.8‰，尽管死亡率仍然高度依赖于地区和社会阶层。婴儿死亡率迅速下降，从1900年的每1000名活产儿中有142.0名下降到1950年的每1000名活产儿中有31.2名。此外，在这几十年里，为老年人和垂死的人提供了不同的医疗技术和护理选择。这一过程最终在1948年建立了国家卫生服务，因为福利国家带来了对所有人从摇篮到坟墓的新水平的照顾。这对家庭本身意味着什么？这项研究将探索个体的证词，以思考现代英国人是如何看待和经历死亡和死亡的。它还包括研究公众对死亡的讨论，例如在媒体上，以及医生如何照顾临终病人。这项研究探索了不同人群对死亡和死亡的态度和经历的不同。特别是，我将通过兰开夏郡、格拉斯哥和利兹的案例研究，比较英国三个不同地区的死亡经历和态度。此外，我还将考虑个人的社会阶层、性别和宗教等因素如何影响人们对死亡和死亡的看法和经历。通过这项研究，我还将调查家庭如何沟通关于死亡的问题，特别是孩子们是如何了解死亡的。我将研究的证词将使我能够分析家庭如何处理照顾垂死亲属的问题，并考虑在这些困难时刻他们与医生的关系。最后，这项研究还将考虑家庭记忆和历史如何被用来帮助缓解与亲属死亡相关的情绪压力。这一奖学金将使我能够发展我在现代英国社会和文化史领域的领导能力。除了让我在一个新的领域开始研究，并因此制定出一本书的提案，该奖学金还将为我打开新的机会，让我申请更大的长期拨款，从比较的角度，在英国不同地区和世界不同社会之间调查死亡，并试验新的参与方法，以最大限度地发挥这项研究的影响。特别是，该奖学金将包括在利兹的Abbey House博物馆开发一个展览；开发新的展览内容和与Thackray医学博物馆一起处理物品的借用箱；为不同的观众组织一些活动，包括会议和死亡咖啡馆；以及与业余历史学家合作调查他们的家族史。

In twentieth-century Britain, dying was both extraordinary and an 'everyday' experience. Whilst the death of a loved one was a momentous emotional event for the family involved, within the wider community death occurred regularly. This period of study, from 1900 to 1950, includes two world wars and the advent of the nuclear age and the Cold War. Life expectancy was increasing for most groups across Britain in the first half of the twentieth century. The crude death rate fell from 16.0 per thousand in 1901-05 to 12.8 in 1941-5, though mortality rates remained highly dependent on region and social class. Infant mortality dropped rapidly, from 142.0 per 1000 live births in 1900 to 31.2 per 1000 live births in 1950. Furthermore, these decades saw the development of different medical technologies and care options for individuals who were elderly and dying. This process culminated in the establishment of the National Health Service in 1948, as the welfare state brought about a new level of care for all, 'from cradle to grave'. What did this mean for families themselves? This research will explore the testimonies of individuals to think about how death and dying were perceived and experienced in modern Britain. It also involves research into public discussions of dying, such as in the press, and how medical practitioners cared for dying patients. The research explores how attitudes to and experiences of dying and death could vary for different groups of people. In particular, I will compare experiences and attitudes to dying across three different regions within Britain, through case studies of Lancashire, Glasgow and Leeds. Furthermore I will consider how factors like an individual's social class, gender and religion affected perceptions and experiences of death and dying.Through this research, I will also investigate how families communicated about dying, and in particular how children learnt about death. The testimonies I will study will allow me to analyse how families coped with caring for a dying relative, and to consider their relationships with medical practitioners at these difficult times. Finally, the research will also consider how family memories and histories were used to help alleviate emotional stress associated with relatives dying. This fellowship will enable me to develop my leadership in the field of modern British social and cultural history. As well as allowing me to commence research in a new area and develop a book proposal as a result, the fellowship will open up new opportunities for me to apply for a larger grant in the long term, to investigate dying in comparative perspective, across different parts of Britain, and between different societies across the world, and to pilot new methods of engagement to maximise the impact of this research. In particular, the fellowship will involve development of an exhibition at Abbey House Museum in Leeds; develop new exhibition content and a loan box of handling items with the Thackray Medical Museum; organise a number of events for different audiences, including conferences and 'death cafes'; and work with amateur historians as they investigate their family histories.