Organising committee:

Dr Sibylle Erle, FRSA, FHEA
(Reader in English Literature, Bishop Grosseteste University, UK)
Dr Makrina Agaoglou
(Juan de la Cierva Incorporación Researcher, CSIC / ICMAT, Spain)
Sophie Ungerer, ARB, FHEA
(Senior Lecturer in Interior Architecture, University of Brighton, UK)

 

Contact:

PerceptionsofDeath@bishopg.ac.uk

 

Financial Support:

 

 

Organizing institutions:

 

 

Programme

The symposium is taking place on 2nd November 2021 between 15:00h-19:00h (CET)/14:00h - 18:00h (BST). You are welcome to join the symposium at any point. (Cameras and microphones for attendees will be switched off).

The symposium is structured to explore our perception of death from three different angles:

  • 15.00h (CET)/14.00h (GMT) [I] Prediction/Numbers – Over the last 18 months mathematical graphs, representing the COVID-19 cases and deaths related to the virus, have been used by all social media to inform the communities about the current and future situations. The understanding of these graphs by the public is of crucial importance. Mathematical models are story tellers. Models are built taking into account the epidemiological information about COVID-19 and are validated using the real world data, giving insights on the disease spreading dynamics by predicting future stages of the epidemics/pandemics. Experts from the area of mathematical modelling will provide an inside into this form of representation through academic presentations followed by Q&A, so that complex matters can be understood.
  • 16.30h(CET)/15.30h(GMT) [II] Death/Spaces - The second part of the symposium focuses on the physical and spatial representation of death. We will explore the public spaces we create to remember and relate to death, such as cemeteries and memorials, through built and speculative proposals. As we inhabit formal or informal spaces of memory, how do they allow us to engage with the notion of death and grief? Dr John Troyer, director of the Centre of Death and Society will join architects Andrew Waugh and Angelo Renna to share their projects, experience and ideas.
  • 18.00(CET)/17.00(GMT) [III] Memory/Texts – The final point of view explores our processing of death in artistic practice, focusing on the bonds that continue to exist between the dead and the living. This part of the symposium is a presentation by multidimensional artist Marina White Raven, which looks at the tensions between personal experience and the formation of collective memory.

The presentation will prepare and lay the ground for an interactive and creative workshop with Marina White Raven taking place after the symposium. Participant numbers for this event are limited. You can find further information about the interactive workshop by clicking here.