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COVID-19, the Death Taboo, and the Healing Power of Consumption

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A recurring question I’ve been asked throughout this past year of teaching and research in the End of Life Studies field has been how far the global pandemic has brought about a more open acknowledgement of human mortality. This is an interesting take on what is a standard question for scholars of death and dying:… Continue reading

The Global Spread of Death Cafés

Published on: Author: Naomi Richards 1 Comment

Before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted conventional thinking around death and dying, Death Cafés around the world were encouraging people to reflect on their mortality. Death Cafés are informal social spaces where strangers meet to ‘have a conversation’ about death and dying. They can be organised by anyone, anywhere in the world. With death rates now… Continue reading

Death Writes “Images”: Exploring Death & Dying Through Visual Imagery

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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

We are hiring!

Published on: Author: Naomi Richards Leave a comment

This is an exciting opportunity for a Post-Doctoral Research Associate to work on a ground-breaking new project funded by the prestigious Economic and Social Research Council. The project is called Dying in the Margins: Uncovering the Barriers to Home Dying for the Socio-Economically Deprived. This is a full-time Grade 7 appointment for 30 months based… Continue reading

What is the cultural value of dying in an era of assisted dying?

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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

New ESRC-Funded Project “Dying in the Margins” Investigates How Socio-Economic Deprivation Effects End of Life Experiences and Ability to Die at Home

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We are all aware of the headlines about the impact of government austerity measures on communities up and down the UK. But what impact has austerity had on people’s experiences of dying and, specifically, their ability to die in their own home? What is it like to be facing death in materially constrained circumstances in… Continue reading

Drawing to a Close: An Exhibition of Drawings at the End of Life

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In November 2018 the End of Life Studies Group exhibited a series of drawings by a renowned Scottish artist showing powerful glimpses of death and dying. The exhibition was shown at the Yellow Door Gallery in Dumfries as part of the UK wide Being Human festival of the Arts & Humanities, and we were responding to the 2018 theme… Continue reading

A Collaboration between Artists and Academics to Exhibit Powerful Drawings Showing the Last Days of Life

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By Dr Naomi Richards and Dr Marian Krawczyk In November 2018 we exhibited a series of drawings by a renowned Scottish artist showing powerful glimpses of death and dying. The exhibition was shown at the Yellow Door Gallery in Dumfries as part of the UK wide Being Human festival of the Arts & Humanities, and… Continue reading