UBC Theses and Dissertations

UBC Theses Logo

UBC Theses and Dissertations

A cemetery for the city Burkitt, James

Abstract

The intention of this thesis project will be primarily focused on issues of the cemetery that involve its utilization as a vehicle to cultivate an awareness of heritage and its role in establishing a framework on which to promote the sense of communal identity in an authentic manner. For as many divergent societies that co-exist on earth there are equally as many diverse ritualistic patterns involving death and dying particular to each society. Although the study of these ritualistic patterns is an intriguing one, with regard to utilization of the cemetery as a vehicle to strengthen the identity of place, I believe, it is essential to accommodate and enrich already accepted notions of death and dying particular to Vancouver and Canada. As a consequence of the country's age, it seems that there is always the pressure to import character and values from other places. To begin to define an identity and therefore cultivate community there has to be acknowledgment and acceptance of heritage as an initial point of growth. For these reasons, rather than replace an already existing set of rituals with foreign ideologies surrounding death and dying, it is crucial that existing rituals not be discarded. The proposed site for this project is the Grandview Cut rail corridor that extends between the False Creek Flats and Grandview Woodlands in East Vancouver. Specifically, the site is situated between Clark Drive on the west and Slocan Drive on the east.

Item Media

Item Citations and Data

Rights

For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.