In November 2021, we held a 2-day workshop at our School of Interdisciplinary Studies in Dumfries, Scotland on the theme of Death and Design. The theme was chosen in honour of our visiting scholar, Professor Bruce Tharp from the University of Michigan’s School of Art and Design. Bruce was awarded a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship to… Continue reading →
Months after receiving my Doctorate in Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Glasgow, I had the good fortune to land my dream job. In September 2021, I excitedly accepted the role of Writing Program Coordinator for Mount Tamalpais College, which is a dedicated junior college for San Quentin Prison in California. I… Continue reading →
Through an interdisciplinary Arts Lab on Reading and Writing Death and Dying, Dr Elizabeth Reeder, Dr Naomi Richards, and Amy Shea are running a half-day symposium on Wednesday 22nd January 2020, 1-5pm, at the Women’s Library in Glasgow. The symposium is open to 40 people and will comprise various writing workshops responding to imagery and… Continue reading →
Online memorials have been a relatively popular form of memorialisation for the best part of this century. They bear markings of birth and death, just as traditional gravestones, however, they allow for an exceptional amount of interaction within them – the bereaved can send messages to the deceased, upload pictures, music, art, poems, and even… Continue reading →
In the summer of 2018, Dr Marian Krawczyk and I co-authored an article about how the various western cultural ‘scripts’ which give meaning to dying might be influenced when assisted dying is made lawful and the very end stages of dying becomes, in essence, an ‘optional’ part of the lifecourse. Our thinking was very much… Continue reading →
Authors: Julie Lang, Dr Sheri Mila Gerson, Dr Sarah Pickstock (Consultant, Palliative Medicine, NHS Dumfries and Galloway) Steven Eastwood’s powerful documentary film Island was screened at Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary as a part of Dying Matters Week. This was a collaborative event between the academic community of the End-of-Life studies Group and the clinical staff… Continue reading →
Death is not monolithic. It is better to think about deaths and dyings. So said a participant about what she had learnt from our half day symposium on reading and writing death, in May 2019, held at the St Mungo Museum for Religious Life and Art in Glasgow . Not monolithic indeed. Our plan for… Continue reading →
In the 2017-2018 academic year, myself, Dr Naomi Richards, and Dr Elizabeth Reeder held a series of reading and writing workshops centered around the topic of death and dying. We each facilitated a couple of workshops. A fellow PhD student, Solveiga Zibaite also facilitated a workshop. They brought together a diverse group of people all… Continue reading →
