News and Events
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Most of us will leave behind a large ‘digital legacy’ when we die. Here’s how to plan what happens to it
In today's digital age, our online presence has become an integral part of our identity and legacy. From social media accounts to streaming services, we accumulate a vast amount of digital data throughout our lives. This "digital legacy" includes both digital assets with economic value and digital presence with personal significance. This article by Bjørn Nansen, explores the complexities of managing …
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Design + Death: Beyond the Grave | NGV Open House Melbourne
Building on the success of last year's Six Feet Under program, Beyond the Grave: Design + Death expands its focus beyond cemeteries to explore the intricate relationships between memory, place, and identity in the context of death, culture, commemoration, and urban planning. This thought-provoking event features the Memorialisation Symposium, where experts, including Sam Holleran from the DeathTech Research Team, will delve …
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Listen: Current issues in Deathcare with Prof Michael Arnold
Professor Michael Arnold, DeathTech Team Member, was a guest on 3RRR's popular "Breakfasters" show this morning. During the interview, he spoke about current trends and issues in the Deathcare industry. The insightful discussion covered various topics related to 'peak death', the deathcare industry, and the evolution of deathcare traditions from burial and cremation to new alternatives. For those who missed the …
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Podcast: Cemeteries − the parks and public spaces of the future
Can you have a wedding between the graves? Why not! – as long as it's respectful. Listen to the podcast on ABC Listen The future of cemetery design is multi-functional, as public spaces just like our gardens and parks. And also as a refuge for animals in the midst of our cities and suburbs. They can be places for the living …
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New Special Collection in Anthropological Quarterly
The latest issue of Anthropological Quarterly (Summer 2024) features a Special Collection titled The Disruption and Regeneration of Death During the Covid-19 Pandemic, co-edited by Tamara Kohn and Hannah Gould. Two key articles from the collection include: Kohn, T., & Gould, H. (2024). On Disrupted Death Rites and COVID-19. Anthropological Quarterly, 97(3), 439-447. Read here. Gould, H., & Holleran, S. (2024). Concealment and …
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Cemetery Greening and Biodiversity
Landscaping in cemeteries is transforming. In this article Samuel Holleran, Death Tech Team Member and recent PhD graduate, discusses how changing cultural values, towards biodiversity and sustainability for example, influence the changes in cemetery landscaping decisions like Project Cultivate in the Melbourne General Cemetery. A tree is not just a tree; it’s a whole signifier of cultural norms and values. In these …
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Ray Martin dives into the world of death and funerals in ‘The Last Goodbye’
Australia’s beloved journalist explores one of the nation’s last taboos – death – as he plans his own funeral in this new three-part series. Throughout the SBS series, Ray consults DeathTech Research Team member Dr. Hannah Gould, cultural anthropologist and researcher in death, religion and technology, who acts as a touchstone for Ray as he considers his death journey. Read the …
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Push to reuse graves as cemeteries run out of room: The Age
Read about the growing cemetery crisis in Australia, and the related push towards the reuse of graves. In this article, Dr Hannah Gould from Melbourne University’s Death Tech team discusses the 2021 DeathTech Research survey of 1053 Australians on their attitudes towards cemeteries, where most favoured renewable grave site tenure, either as an option (49 per cent) or as a mandatory standard …
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Six Feet Under: Design + Death Symposium – June 1-2, 2024, Melbourne Design Week 2024
Join Open House Melbourne, DeathTech and special guests for a day of panel conversations shining a light on the architecture, places, issues and practices associated with death and the end of life. Six Feet Under: Design + Death is part of Melbourne Design Week 2024, an initiative of the Victorian Government in collaboration with the NGV. Across three moderated panel …
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Digital afterlife – how to deal with social media accounts when someone dies
Deciding what to do with a dead friend or relative’s online presence is complicated and time-consuming but there are shortcuts. There is no one-stop-shop or single method to memorialise or delete accounts. Some companies, including Google, are now deleting accounts after two years of inactivity but there is no consistency across platforms. In this article, Dr Bjorn Nansen discusses how social …
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Remembering and forgetting the dead
The dead are brought front of mind in many ways through our public rituals, festivals and ceremonies. There’s China’s Hungry Ghost Festival, Mexico’s Día de los Muertos, Japan’s Obon Festival and of course, Halloween, which has its roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain. Halloween was originally a time dedicated to warding off ghosts with costumes and remembering the dead – rather than collecting candy. In this …
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Technology Of Death – Beyond Rest – Academics Probe Future Cemeteries
We’re talking about death technology and future cemeteries with Professor Michael Arnold. With many cemeteries reaching capacity, and some environmental issues emerging around current ways we deal with our loved ones, we look at different burial options and what the future of death may look like. This is an interesting chat with a researcher behind alternative forms of body disposal. Listen to …
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Crypt-flation: the rising costs of graves and mausoleums in Melbourne | Victoria | The Guardian
Melburnians planning to bury a loved one in the city’s cemeteries are facing steep price hikes, with some grand memorial options surging up to 400% over the past decade. Cemeteries across Australia, particularly in the inner city, are nearing capacity and those vying for a burial plot must fork out for prized pieces of real estate due to rising labour and …
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What makes burial in Melbourne so expensive?
The price tag for a spot in a cemetery or mausoleum has increased by almost 400 per cent over the past decade. University of Melbourne graduate researcher Sam Holleran is part of the School of Culture and Communication's Death Tech Research Team. He joins Sammy J to discuss what drives these prices, and what kind of alternatives are trending. Listen to the full discussion on ABC Melbourne at: …
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Tamara Kohn at MPavillion
Death is often an uncomfortable topic, but as an inevitable part of life, it’s something that we should seek to find comfort with. Bone is intrinsically linked to the concept of life and of death, and for this MPavilion event, Catherine Bell (artist) and Prof. Tamara Kohn (from the DeathTech Research team at the University of Melbourne), explored how we can …
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Cemetery technology provides new ways of memorialising the dead, but there are calls for caution
When Emma McGregor's brother died 22 years ago, his death was sudden and unexpected. "We had old photo albums of Matthew and we would look through those … to reflect on him," she tells ABC RN's Life Matters. "As you can imagine, back then there was no technology around memorialisation at all." These days Ms. McGregor works for a company that makes memorial plaques …