Wither Thou Goest?: Introduction

Abstract

In the last thirty years we have witnessed a burgeoning of research in thanatology. As in most disciplines, the revolution has been followed by a period of filling-in. As we confront the possibility of nuclear and biological annihilation, we need to recover the pioneering vision and spirit that heralded the beginning of thanatology. The authors in this volume call for broad-based interdisciplinary, multi-method, collaborative studies that not only contribute to the development of thanatological theory and research, but also are of use to clinicians, social planners and legislators.