The inaugural Redesigning Deathcare Conference will hosted by the University of Melbourne on 27–29 October 2022, with in-person and online presentations.
We are now inviting expressions of interest that address the following theme. EOIs close 28 February. See the conference website for more detail about ways to participate.
How might we reimagine the future of deathcare?
‘Deathcare’ describes our total system for responding to death, from ageing and the end-of-life, through to body disposal and bereavement.
The acute threat posed by COVID-19 over the last two years has exacerbated deeper challenges to our contemporary models of deathcare, from climate change to an ageing population. Such forces are not simply threats, they also invite innovation and creativity.
Redesigning Deathcare invites contributions from diverse perspectives to collectively imagine and build a holistic system of deathcare. People today are presented with ever-expanding individual choice around the end-of-life, but are also forced to navigate complex, fragmented systems of care that fail to provide equitable and meaningful outcomes. As it stands, deathcare is artificially separated into silos, organised around different stages (dying, death, commemoration, etc.), different professions (medical clinicians, funeral directors, counsellors, etc.), and academic disciplines (medicine, anthropology, law, etc.).
The conference asks delegates to consider:
- How do we remake our deathcare system so that it better meets community needs, not just today, but for future generations?
- How do we bridge long-standing divides in how we imagine and manage the end-of-life?
- How might contested views of the future be productively and equitably debated and resolved?
- How are the future of the planet and the future of deathcare intertwined?
The program at Redesigning Deathcare is organised around four key challenges:
- Demography
- Environmental Crisis
- Diversity & Justice
- Technology
Expressions of interest close 28 February 2022. Registration and full submissions close 31 May 2022.
More details at redesigningdeathcare.org.
The Encyclopedia of Cemetery Technology is a global map and directory of technologies that augment the experience of interacting with a cemetery. It was created by the DeathTech Research Team as part of the Future Cemetery project, based on a systematic review of academic, industry and popular publications about cemeteries and technology.
The Encyclopedia summarises the type and function of existing cemetery technologies. The major application categories are:
The Encyclopedia is now open to contributions.
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 live broadcast, the full episode is available for streaming on the 3RRR website: Breakfasters – 31 October 2024
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 as well as the dead. How can cemeteries play a broader role in our communities?
Speakers
Bjorn Nansen
Senior Lecturer, Media and Communications, and member of the DeathTech research team, University of Melbourne
Hamish Coates
Principal Designer, Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust
Bec Lyons
President, Natural Death Advocacy Network
Tania Davidge (host)
Executive Director, Open House Melbourne
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 Care in Deathcare During COVID. Anthropological Quarterly, 97(3), 539-556. Read here.
For more information, visit the Anthropological Quarterly’s Special Collection.
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 attempts to plant things, you also have conversations about what we want out of these greenspaces.
Read more in American Cemetery & Cremation Magazine
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 SBS News Article here
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 (14 per cent).
Push to reuse graves as cemeteries run out of room to bury the dead (theage.com.au)
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 discussions Six Feet Under: Design + Death Symposium invites audiences to consider the intersection of design and death and discover how the spaces we associate with death and dying are, surprisingly, not so much about death but instead more about life and how we live.
Click here to buy tickets: Six Feet Under: Design + Death Symposium | Humanitix
Program
11AM—12PM – Future Undertakings: Design and the Future of the Cemetery
During the pandemic many of us discovered our local cemeteries. We used them as public spaces in the same way we use our parks, gardens and waterfronts. As our city continues to grow, access to quality public space has never been more important. How might the cemetery play a broader role as our suburbs and neighborhoods increase in density?
Moderated by Dr Katrina Simon in conversation with panelists Hamish Coates, Bec Lyons, and Sam Holleran, Future Undertakings: Design and the Future of the Cemetery will look at the design of cemeteries. It will address the future of cemetery design, the ways in which our cemeteries might incorporate sustainability and how cemeteries can be used more expansively and flexibly as places for the living as well as the dead.
1PM—2PM – Diversity + Dying: Cultural Practices of Mourning
There are many ways to mourn. How does multicultural Australia grieve and, in an increasing secular society, what are the ways we can memorialise those who have passed away?
Moderated by Dr Hannah Gould in conversation with Ven. Thich Phuoc Tan OAM, Kimba Griffith and other panelists, Diversity + Dying: Cultural Practices of Mourning will address cultural responses to death and explore the diversity of rituals and practices of mourning and commemoration in multicultural Australia. It will address the spatial aspects of these practices, shining a light on the design and planning of cemeteries and their ability to connect communities through processes of grieving.
2.30PM—3.30PM – Towards the Light: Design at the End of Life
How do we prepare for death? What do we need to think about if we wish to die at home and what if home is not an option?
Moderated by Tania Davidge in conversation with panelists Dr Mark Boughey, and Dr Rebecca McLaughlan, Towards the Light: Design at the End of Life will reflect on the importance of design in spaces focused on the end of life, considering the places in which we might die and how we can live a good life, right up until the end. It will look at what it means to die with dignity and address how we can help our loved ones to lead the conversation, allowing them agency at the end of life.
During the Design + Death Symposium, interactive installations presented by DeathTech Research Team and GMCT invite participants to contribute a funeral playlist and consider (or reconsider) how they may like to be commemorated and buried.
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 media companies respond and the implications of their response.
Digital afterlife – how to deal with social media accounts when someone dies | Death and dying | The Guardian: Digital afterlife – how to deal with social media accounts when someone dies
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 article, Professor Michael Arnold and Professor Tamara Kohn will discuss how the dead is remembered and forgotten through a cemetery: Remembering and forgetting the dead | Pursuit by The University of Melbourne (unimelb.edu.au)
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 the full conversation: TechnologyOfDeath – Beyond Rest – Academics Probe Future Cemeteries Transcript (buzzsprout.com)
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