The Death Studies Podcast

What's the episode about?   In this episode, hear live recordings and interviews from the DEATHxDESIGNxCULTURE conference at Falmouth University in September 2024. The episode features discussion of death, culture, older age rational suicide (OARS), film, design, grief, knitting, jewellery and memento mori, material culture, museums, and memorial reefs   What was DEATHxDESIGNxCULTURE?  DEATHxDESIGNxCULTURE: Radical Re-Imagining for the End of Life brought together an interdisciplinary group of researchers, practitioners, and designers to critically explore the role of design in relation to death and dying. With a strong focus on interdisciplinarity, the event facilitated knowledge exchange between experts in social sciences, the humanities, and various design fields.     Contributions came from a diverse range of areas, including graphic design, architecture, digital design, fashion design, and product design, highlighting the versatility and expansive nature of design in addressing issues of mortality.   The event was organised by Falmouth University senior lecturers Dr Robyn Cook, Nikki Salkeld and Ashley Rudolph in partnership with the Death and Culture Network at the University of York (UK), Stamps School of Art & Design at the University of Michigan (USA), and the Glasgow End of Life Studies Group at the University of Glasgow (UK). Nikki Salkeld and Ashley Rudolph, are the co-founders of MOTH, which started as a research project in 2013.  Find out more about the conference here. Find out more about Mortem Stores here. How do I cite the episode in my research and reading lists? To cite this episode, you can use the following citation: Michael-Fox, B. and Visser, R. (2024) Conference Episode of The Death Studies Podcast hosted by Michael-Fox, B. and Visser, R. Published 1 December 2024. Available at: www.thedeathstudiespodcast.com, DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.27933669 What next? Check out more episodes or find out more about the hosts! Got a question? Get in touch

What's the episode about? In this episode, hear Heidi Kosonen discuss representations of voluntary death suicide, posthumanism, planetary death, emotion, affect, disgust and gender Who is Heidi?  Heidi Kosonen is a postdoctoral researcher (Contemporary Culture) at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, with research expertise covering varied affective contemporary cultural phenomena. She defended her PhD on suicide cinema from the perspectives of taboo and biopower Fall 2020 and is currently focused on the question of planetary death in her personal post-doc. She has studied hate speech, toxic speech, and counterspeech on several research projects and has especially specialized in the performative use of disgust through the Disgust Network, which she co-founded. Her research connects affect studies approaches to social justice and taboo-related questions in contemporary culture. She is an editor-in-chief of Finnish gender studies journal Sukupuolentutkimus-Genusforskning and a vice chair of The Society for Cultural Studies in Finland. How do I cite the episode in my research and reading lists? To cite this episode, you can use the following citation: Kosonen, H. (2024) Interview on The Death Studies Podcast hosted by Michael-Fox, B. and Visser, R. Published November 2024. Available at: www.thedeathstudiespodcast.com, DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.27434706 What next? Check out more episodes or find out more about the hosts! Got a question? Get in touch.

What's the episode about?   In this episode, hear Evie King discuss council funerals, being a funeral officer, the unidentified dead, Section 46, dying alone, rituals, respect for the dead, marginalisation and her book Ashes to Admin   Who is Evie?  Evie King is a council worker and writer. A former stand up comedian, she has always written short form pieces in the margins of her various day jobs, contributing to New Humanist, Guardian Comment is Free, BBC Comedy and Viz Comic. Since moving to the seaside and going part-time she has had more time for writing and has completed her first book - Ashes to Admin - about her job arranging council funerals under her pen name. She is currently working on a second.  The book mentioned in the introduction by podcast co-host Dr Renske Visser and the podcast’s first ever guest Professor Erica Borgstrom is https://www.routledge.com/Critical-Approaches-to-Death-Dying-and-Bereavement/Borgstrom-Visser/p/book/9781032330624?srsltid=AfmBOopYgRNL7SR_6NymBb-QPGhhEnc6sZ_weXcndNlIPb1VYDhar6gg. Discount code: SMA23 How do I cite the episode in my research and reading lists? To cite this episode, you can use the following citation: King, E. (2024) Interview on The Death Studies Podcast hosted by Michael-Fox, B. and Visser, R. Published 1 October 2024. Available at: http://www.thedeathstudiespodcast.com/, DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.27141447 What next? Check out more https://thedeathstudiespodcast.com/episodes/ or find out more about the https://thedeathstudiespodcast.com/the-hosts/ Got a question? https://thedeathstudiespodcast.com/contact-us/.

What's the episode about? In this episode, hear Dr. Minakshi Dewan on last rites and rituals in India, gender, faith, religion, funeral pyres, sky burial, caste, gender, discrimination and the professionalisation of rites and funerals Who is Minakshi? Dr Minakshi Dewan is a researcher and writer with a PhD degree in social medicine and community health from Jawaharlal Nehru University and a master's degree in social work from TISS Mumbai. She possesses extensive experience in health, gender, and community mobilization with grassroots and international development organizations. She has contributed chapters in academic publications on tribal health and healing rituals. Her writings have appeared in leading Indian and international publications and address a range of issues, including, health, human rights, the environment and culture. She has also written a non-fiction title for children. The Final Farewell: Understanding the Last Rites and Rituals of India’s Major Faiths, is her debut non-fiction book with Harper Collins, India.   How do I cite the episode in my research and reading lists? To cite this episode, you can use the following citation: Dewan, M. (2024) Interview on The Death Studies Podcast hosted by Michael-Fox, B. and Visser, R. Published 1 September 2024. Available at: www.thedeathstudiespodcast.com, DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.26886349 What next? Check out more episodes or find out more about the hosts! Got a question? Get in touch.