Ethnographic Observations at Christ Church Burial Grounds
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15367/pj.v5i1.144Abstract
This ethnography presents observations of visitor behaviors at Christ Church Burial Grounds in Old City Philadelphia. This study shows that visitors to Christ Church Burial Grounds did not always adhere to the social rules that govern actively used cemeteries like remaining on marked paths and appropriately interacting with monuments or markers. Additionally, this study shows that most people visited Christ Church Burial Grounds by chance, rather than by plan, and that the visitors were drawn to Christ Church Burial Grounds because it is the final resting place of Benjamin Franklin. Although Christ Church Burial Grounds is technically classified as a cemetery, its visitors are not governed by the same social rules that apply to actively-used cemeteries, and therefore it cannot be analyzed through the same lens.
References
Baugher, Sherene and Richard Veit. 2014. The Archaeology of American Cemeteries and Gravemarkers. Gainesville: University Press of Florida.
Christ Church. n.d. “About the Burial Grounds.” Accessed November 15, 2018 at https://www.christchurchphila.org/about-the-burial-grounds/
Christ Church (Philadelphia, Pa). 1953. The Story of Christ Church in Philadelphia. Philadelphia.
The Cultural Landscape Foundation. n.d. “Christ Church Burial Ground.” Accessed November 15, 2018 at https://tclf.org/landscapes/christ-church-burial-ground
Dixon, Mark. 2017. “How Franklins’ Grave Became a Monument and Philadelphians Were Persuaded to Like it.” Hidden City Philadelphia. Accessed November 15, 2018 at https://hiddencityphila.org/2017/04/behind-the-publicity-stunt-at-benjamin-franklins-grave/
Dorr, Benjamin. 1841. A Historical Account of Christ Church, Philadelphia: From its Foundation, A.D. 1695 to A.D. 1841: And St. Peters and St. James’s, Until the Separation of the Churches. New York: Swords, Stanford and Co..
Eggner, Keith. 2010. Cemeteries. New York: W. W. Norton and Company Inc..
Francis, Doris, Leonie Kellaher and Georgina Neophytou. 2005. The Secret Cemetery. New York: Berg.
Meyer, Morgan, Kate Woodthorpe. 2008. “The Material Presence of Absence: A Dialogue Between Museums and Cemeteries.” Sociological Research Online. http://www.socresonline.org.uk/13/5/1.html>
Miller, Sarah E. 2015. “Cemeteries as Participatory Museums.” Advances in Archaeological Practice 3(3): 275-290. DOI: 10.7183/2326-3768.3.3.275
Sloane, David Charles. 2018. Is the Cemetery Dead?. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. n.d. “Burial Customs and Cemeteries in American History.” Accessed November 15, 2018. https://www.nps.gov/nr/publications/bulletins/nrb41/nrb41_5.htm
Visit Philadelphia. n.d. “Christ Church Burial Grounds.” Accessed November 15, 2018 at https://www.visitphilly.com/things-to-do/attractions/christ-church-burial-ground/
Wilkerson Funeral Home & Crematory. n.d. “Etiquette: Understanding Appropriate Funeral Conduct.” Accessed November 12, 2018. http://m.wilkersonfuneralhome.com/resources/funeral-etiquette
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
All works are the property of their respective authors, but by submitting a paper to Perceptions, the Temple Undergraduate History and Social Sciences Association has permission to publish and make available the work in question.
