| dc.description.abstract | In researching the history of the American cemetery, a variety of interesting subjects present themselves. This thesis focuses specifically on the history of the built form of the burial space in the light of societal thought concerning death during the period. As can be seen in reading through the first two sections of the writings, the American cemetery, while a very diverse institution across the United States, and even across a single state, has throughout time been an accurate indicator of the society's feelings on death. In other words, how we have felt about life can easily be seen in the way we have addressed the disposition and remembrance of the dead. This has been true in all times, except for our current time. At this point, my analysis becomes more philosophical than academic. As you will see, it is impossible to point to specific reasons for the changes which I will contend have been made for the worse of the cemetery through the years. This is not to say that my analysis is not based on facts in so far as possible. Instead, the research and analysis of historical American and contemporary European models has served as my springboard for analysis of contemporary American design for death. I believe that it will be seen that the conclusions which I reach are supportable by inference from the facts.
Having analyzed the past and the present, my efforts then shifted to a brief proposal for improving the contemporary American way of burial and commemoration. This was done on a limited scale by considering a specific site, Eastern State Penitentiary, that lent itself to this sort of re-use. This design proposal is a more subjective area, and some may not necessarily agree with my design objectives or with facets of the proposal. However, the purpose in analyzing an area as important to a society as death and burial is to call attention to the fact that this sort of critical thinking on the subject is inevitably productive. The goal of the proposal is simply to prove that it is possible. As I have stated, my conclusions may not be agreed on by all, but the purpose of this thesis is to draw attention to the fact that some critical thinking must be done in area that does not easily lend itself to such. | en |
