Title: Death in the city : suicide and the social imaginary in modern Mexico /
Authors: Sloan, Kathryn A., 1961-
Year: 2017
Subjects: Suicide Mexico History; Murder Mexico History; Death Social aspects Mexico History; Death Social aspects; Murder; Suicide; Suicide ethnology; Suicide history; Attitude to Death ethnology; Homicide history; Violence history; History, 20th Century; Mexico; Mexico
Abstract: "At the turn of the twentieth century, many observers considered suicide to be a worldwide social problem that had reached epidemic proportions. This idea was especially powerful in Mexico City, where tragic and violent deaths in public urban spaces seemed commonplace in a city undergoing rapid modernization. Crime rates mounted, corpses piled up in the morgue, and the media reported on sensational cases of murder and suicide. More troublesome still, a compelling death wish appeared to grip women and youth. Drawing on an extensive range of sources, from judicial records to the popular press, Death in the City examines the cultural meanings of death and self-destruction in modern Mexico. The author examines approaches and responses to suicide and death, disproving the long-held belief that Mexicans possessed a cavalier response to death"--Provided by publisher.
Contents: A social history of suicide in Mexico City, 1900-30 -- From corpse to cadaver : suicide & the forensic gaze -- Print culture, moral panic, and youth suicide -- The modern disease : medical meanings and approaches to suicide -- Death in the city : suicide and public space -- Stains of blood : death, vernacular mourning, and suicide.