International Death Symposium: Creating Community and Taking Action
From Friday September 21, through to Sunday Sept 23, 2018, Toronto will be host to the International Death Symposium. Bringing together experts across a diverse field, the goal of this public symposium is to learn, experience and reconcile our relationship and understanding of life and death. The guest speakers, teachers and educators include Dr. BJ …
Alua Arthur – End of Life Support and Planning
There is a lot more to death than dying. There is grief, but also logistics and planning. How and where does one die? What do we do with our loved one’s possessions? How do we put all of our finances in order, either through pre-planning, or after a death has occurred? This is where someone …
Cemetery Overcrowding is Leading Europe to Recycle Burial Plots
Guest writer, Rafaela Ferraz, explores the traditions and challenges around the common European practice of grave recycling and how eternity can still be bought, for the right price.
Trans-Death: Exploring Deadnaming Through a Death Positive Lens
Deadnaming is a form of violence against trans folk that occurs in life, and in death. Are there lessons to learn between the death positive and LGBTQ movements?
#TalkDeath with the American Thanatologist
The American Thanatologist Many of you may have heard the term, but do you know what a thanatologist is, or does? Thanatology is the scientific study of death. Thanatologists investigate the psychological and social aspects of death and dying, as well as the forensic aspects of it (like bodily changes during and after death). While thanatology traces its …
Even More Movies About Death and Dying
Death is perhaps the most enduring trope in Hollywood. Death transcends all categories of film from action movies, to rom-coms, and dramas. It should come as little surprise that life’s enduring mystery (and fear), would be reflected on the silver screen. When we put out our first list of the Best Movies About Death and …
Collective Death Rituals Around the World
Why Do We Mourn Collectively? What many pre-burial death rituals around the world have in common is the social. When a death occurs, communities will often come together as a show of support and care for the bereaved and their family. Food is often prepared and shared, the conversations flow, mourners are comforted, and the …
Where is Green Burial Available in Canada?
What is Green Burial? Green or natural burial is the process of human disposition with the least environmental consequences, while encouraging greater land stewardship. Bodies are not prepared using chemical embalming fluids, are placed in simple shrouds or biodegradable caskets, and concrete vaults are not used, nor are traditional markers (headstones & footstones). In Canada, …