By We are excited to announce the 7th edition of our #TalkDeath series, Historical Death / Future Death.
We decided to dip into the academic world for this edition and we don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Professor John Troyer is Director of the Centre for Death and Society and lecturer at the University of Bath in the UK. He will be joined by Professor Gary Laderman is a Religious Studies professor who specializes in death practices and history. They will be speaking with Qeepr LIVE on December 14th @ 2pm EST on YouTube. Our experts will answer any questions you may have about the history of death, death practices, modern beliefs and future trends. Start asking your questions now on Social Media with #TalkDeath.
#TalkDeath: Historical Death / Future Death
What:
Episode 7: Historical Death / Future Death is about where we have come from and where we will go.Peter Berger once wrote that “Death presents society with a formidable problem not only because of its obvious threat to the continuity of human relationships, but because it threatens the basic assumptions of order on which society rests.” Human burial dates back to over 100,000 years ago and since then we have struggled to find meaning in death. Death is intimately tied into human practices, rituals and religious beliefs. How have those things changed and how have they stayed the same?
Death presents us with other, non-existential problems. In the modern world our cemeteries are filling up, funeral costs are growing and the environmental effects of burial can no longer be ignored. This episode of #TalkDeath wants to look into our past in order to see into our future. Are Medieval practices relevant to us today? How did people bury their dead during mass epidemics? How will we design cemeteries in the future? We will be able to live forever? These are just some of the questions that John and Gary tackle in their work and look forward to answering on our show. Ask your questions now!
Where:
#TalkDeath Episode 7: Historical Death / Future Death will air live on YouTube on December 14th @ 2pm EST. Click here to watch live!
Who:
Dr. John Troyer received his doctorate from the University of Minnesota and now teaches at the University of Bath in the UK where he is the director of the Centre for Death and Society. John’s interests are far ranging but within the field of death studies, John focuses on delineating and defining the concept of the dead human subject (University of Bath). The Centre for Death and Society researchers a wide range of topics including contemporary death practices, design and digital memorialization.
Dr. Gary Laderman is Chair and Goodrich C. White Professor in the Department of Religion at Emory University. Laderman received his B.A. in Psychology from California State University, Northridge, and his M.A. and Ph. D. from the Religious Studies Department, University of California, Santa Barbara. Laderman has written two books on the history of death and dying in America and has authored numerous articles. In addition to serving as chairperson of the department, Laderman is also a founder of the online religion magazine, Religion Dispatches (Emory University).
Watch Live:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2W_CFxEjYs
Which death practice from the past do you see surviving into the future?
Great idea! I’d really like to know why all cultures seem to have rituals for the dead? Why is it so important for us to remember the dead and the hold these rituals?