View in EDS HTML Full Text PDF Full Text

In the wake of a boat: The politics of mourning the 18th of April 2015 shipwreck.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: In the wake of a boat: The politics of mourning the 18th of April 2015 shipwreck.
Authors: Mirto, Giorgia (AUTHOR)
Source: Death Studies. 2026, Vol. 50 Issue 3, p396-409. 14p.
Subjects: Ships, Death, Forensic sciences, Dignity, Ethics, Disasters, Ocean, Practical politics, Grief, Exhumation, Interment, Humanitarianism
Abstract: On April 18, 2015, a fishing vessel was shipwrecked between Libya and Italy. The tragedy was the result of Italian and European border policies. More than 1,100 people (from across Africa and the Indian subcontinent) lost their lives in the vessel, making it the largest recorded civilian massacre to have occurred in the Mediterranean Sea. Beyond the huge number of dead, what distinguishes the shipwreck are the processes of the "translation" of its human and material remains, involving their displacement, material transformation and re-signification. In this paper, I summarize these processes in four stages, intertwining the vessel and the bodies of those who died inside it: their exhumation, naming, wake (whether artistic or forensic) and, finally, burial. By analyzing the work of translating the boat and bodies, and exploring what can be expressed through their different materialities, I show their intense social and political life, which led various actors involved to claim ownership over mourning. By delineating the mirrored relationship between the bodies and the boat, this article demonstrates the contribution death studies can make to the analysis of migration debris on the one hand, and, on the other, how tracing the social life of boats in the aftermath of migrant shipwrecks can enrich an analysis of the political life of border deaths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Death Studies is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
Full text is not displayed to guests.
FullText Links:
  – Type: pdflink
Text:
  Availability: 1
Header DbId: pbh
DbLabel: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
An: 191202944
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: In the wake of a boat: The politics of mourning the 18th of April 2015 shipwreck.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Mirto%2C+Giorgia%22">Mirto, Giorgia</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Death+Studies%22">Death Studies</searchLink>. 2026, Vol. 50 Issue 3, p396-409. 14p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subjects
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Ships%22">Ships</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Death%22">Death</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Forensic+sciences%22">Forensic sciences</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Dignity%22">Dignity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Ethics%22">Ethics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Disasters%22">Disasters</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Ocean%22">Ocean</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Practical+politics%22">Practical politics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Grief%22">Grief</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Exhumation%22">Exhumation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Interment%22">Interment</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Humanitarianism%22">Humanitarianism</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: On April 18, 2015, a fishing vessel was shipwrecked between Libya and Italy. The tragedy was the result of Italian and European border policies. More than 1,100 people (from across Africa and the Indian subcontinent) lost their lives in the vessel, making it the largest recorded civilian massacre to have occurred in the Mediterranean Sea. Beyond the huge number of dead, what distinguishes the shipwreck are the processes of the "translation" of its human and material remains, involving their displacement, material transformation and re-signification. In this paper, I summarize these processes in four stages, intertwining the vessel and the bodies of those who died inside it: their exhumation, naming, wake (whether artistic or forensic) and, finally, burial. By analyzing the work of translating the boat and bodies, and exploring what can be expressed through their different materialities, I show their intense social and political life, which led various actors involved to claim ownership over mourning. By delineating the mirrored relationship between the bodies and the boat, this article demonstrates the contribution death studies can make to the analysis of migration debris on the one hand, and, on the other, how tracing the social life of boats in the aftermath of migrant shipwrecks can enrich an analysis of the political life of border deaths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Death Studies is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=pbh&AN=191202944
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1080/07481187.2024.2424027
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 14
        StartPage: 396
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Ships
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Death
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Forensic sciences
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Dignity
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Ethics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Disasters
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Ocean
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Practical politics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Grief
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Exhumation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Interment
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Humanitarianism
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: In the wake of a boat: The politics of mourning the 18th of April 2015 shipwreck.
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Mirto, Giorgia
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 03
              Text: 2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 07481187
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 50
            – Type: issue
              Value: 3
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Death Studies
              Type: main
ResultId 1