Between worlds : communication perspectives of female funeral celebrants in British Columbia --- a visual ethnography
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Issue Date
2012-07-13
Editor
Authors
Ollsin, Sandra E.
License
Subject
funeral celebrant communication
visual ethnography
non-representational theories
grief-induced liminal states
participatory ritual
visual ethnography
non-representational theories
grief-induced liminal states
participatory ritual
Abstract
This visual ethnography is an interactive, online, multimedia project that explores female funeral
celebrant perspectives on communicating with members of the general public who are immersed
in liminal states of consciousness during the process of bereavement. Non-representational
theory is incorporated to afford better understanding of female funeral celebrant communication
practices. The multimedia project is made up of select video and audio clips taken from in-depth
interviews completed with four female funeral celebrants in British Columbia, Canada about
their specialized communication work. Favourite poetry and quotes from celebrants are
included. Three main themes emerge as central to funeral celebrant work: witnessing, following
and engaging with the process; the limen as creative source --- companioning mourners at the
threshold; and the art of (irretrievable) performance through facilitating affective, participatory
ritual. These same themes are reflected in the interactive, multimedia visual ethnography, which
may be engaged with here:
http://prezi.com/w85_hps4acf1/between-worlds-communication-perspectives-of-female-funeral-celebrants-in-british-columbia/?auth_key=7536c83649629fcf0547168f04462c8f089a6179