Mass death events reveal that science and medicine have come to play a major role in the management of the dead over the last two centuries. The generalisation of the use of forensic medicine after mass death events since the 1980s can be seen as the latest step in this medicalisation process.
However, while these forensic practices have been the subject of intense analysis and reflection, the medical practices that preceded them are much less well known. This is precisely the scope and ambition of this research project, which looks at the development of the management of corpses in times of mass violence over a long period of time from the 1850s to the 1960s. By examining the scientific theories, practices and techniques developed on and off the battlefields, this project sheds light on the origins and the development of forensics methods.
At the same time, bodies of the deceased and their handling have become a major element of the grieving process since the late 18th century. Mass death events reveal fundamental conflicts between medical imperatives and memorial needs. They result in mortuary procedures that often impede later localisation and identification, profoundly affecting the mourning of relatives. This project thus assesses the effects of medical knowledge on attitudes towards death and mourning, and studies the memorial tensions raised by corpses and their handling.
The project is divided into three areas of research corresponding to three sub-periods. Linda Ratschiller is examining the first period: The Medicalisation of Death on the Battlefields (1850–1914). Victoria Abrahamyan is investigating the second period: The Birth of War Forensics (1914–1939). Taline Garibian – the principal investigator – is in charge of the third period: Corpses and Mass Graves as Sites of Investigation (1939–1960).
