Reading advice for university thesis

[Shedlock2000]

Hi Gang,

Firstly, I am new to the forum, and the website - despite a healthy (or unhealthy) appetite for Sir Terry's litterary accomplishments.

However, I find myself studying hard.. *cough* at the University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, for a degree in Philosophy. For an independent study this semester, I am studying Death, Loss, and Bereavement; inspiration for which, has naturally required me to turn to the discworld.

Can any here please suggest two or three discworld books which offer insight to human management of death, loss, and bereavement. I have currently chosen 'Mort' and 'Reaper Man', but I am looking to specifically pull some of the philosophy on death and its management from Sir Terry's discworld series to incorporate into my thesis.

All suggestions will be happily considered.

I have read all of his discworld series over a number of years, although this class does not provide the luxury of time sufficient to re-read them all.

Thanks again!!!

[Quatermass]

A few examples abound. I think they discuss what needs to be done with dead bodies as part of being a witch in either A Hat Full of Sky or Wintersmith.

And not to detract from the Discworld and its Death, but there are also many of Neil Gaiman's works that deal with Death, Loss, and Bereavement. A lot of The Sandman graphic novel series deal with the subject (particularly the stories "The Sound of Her Wings" from Preludes & Nocturnes, "Facade" from Dream Country, "The Song of Orpheus" from Fables & Reflections, "Cerements" from Worlds' End, and the entirety of The Wake). One of the key characters is Death of the Endless, the sister of Dream of the Endless.

[Penfold]

Hellooo and welcome Shedlock.

"I Shall Wear Midnight" also touches upon why a witch can take away pain but won't interfere with or take away grief.

[Tonyblack]

The whole Tiffany series would be an excellent one for such a study.

Good luck with the thesis and welcome to the site.

[Jan Van Quirm]

How about Small Gods for a more theological take on Death duties on Discworld. The differences between Brutha and Vorbis are never so clear as when Brutha finally passes on after his 100 years and takes Vorbis by the hand to cross that desert...

[MongoGutman]

Maurice and his educated rodents has some interesting aspects. Maurice's guilt over earlier actions, the care he takes to make sure his prey can't talk might say something about own own attitude to the death of livetock, the deal he makes with Death himself...

In Men at Arms the way the dwarves close ranks when one of their number is murdered, hampering the investigation - cultural imperatives taking precedence over justice... Fido's better dead than slave(pet) philosophy and how the dogs react to the death of Fido has a kind of Ozymandius aspect to it... and Detrius' grief over the death of his cultural enemy, Cuddy. The gonne itself embodies impersonal death, that is the difference perceived over death dealt from afar with little consideration or consequence over close up action with a knife or a brick in a sock.