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

Published on: Author: Naomi Richards Leave a comment

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

What do ‘declarations’ tell us about palliative care and euthanasia/assisted dying?

Published on: Author: Hamilton Inbadas Leave a comment

It was in one of our first meetings of the ‘Global interventions at the end of life‘ project in early 2015 that we initiated discussions on the possibility of studying ‘declarations’ on end of life issues. Nearly four years on, I am delighted that our third paper on research into declarations is now published –… Continue reading

The Mitori Project – keeping a ‘watching brief’ on end of life issues in Japan and the UK

Published on: Author: David Clark Leave a comment

In summer 2018 I spotted a call from the Economic and Social Research Council seeking proposals to build collaboration between researchers in Japan and the United Kingdom, with no constraints on the subject matter. It looked an interesting opportunity. I quickly reached out to my Japanese colleague the philosopher Hirobumi Takenouchi and within a few… Continue reading

Controversies in palliative care: a matter of definition

Published on: Author: David Clark 16 Comments

The compassionate world of palliative care is currently going through what one activist has called ‘a winter of discontent’. In a field where a sense of shared and pioneering purpose has long driven development, a measure of disagreement has broken out. The major advocacy and professional societies in palliative care are lining up on opposite… Continue reading

A Christmas Letter by Cicely Saunders, from twenty years ago

Published on: Author: David Clark Leave a comment

Cicely Saunders was a great writer of letters. Indefatigable in her correspondence, she was equally happy dashing off the briefest of newsy notes, or setting out several pages of detailed text, full of insight and reflection. My acquaintance with her letters, built up over many years, was invaluable to me as I was writing her… Continue reading

Putting heads together: international research collaborations that help us all

Published on: Author: David Clark Leave a comment

Palliative and end of life care is still a small field of activity, but it has quickly developed a global network of people who want to work together, often in productive ways.  It was my pleasure in the last few weeks of 2018 to welcome to the University of Glasgow, Dumfries Campus some of the… Continue reading

Dr Clare Roques – My PhD Journey

In January 2012 I began studying for a cross-disciplinary PhD supervised by David Clark and Sandy Whitelaw from the End of Life Studies Team at the University of Glasgow’s Dumfries Campus. My thesis, entitled ‘The Treatment of Pain in India: power and practice’, was borne from the notion that global health improvement initiatives, despite being… Continue reading

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

Published on: Author: Naomi Richards Leave a comment

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