Death Studies Toolkit

Reproduced with the kind permission of Dr Giorgio Scalici. We recognise that this page requires consistent monitoring and update so as to stay abreast of developments in the field.

Other Research Centres and Networks

• Centre for Death & Society (CDAS): Based at the University of Bath, CDAS is an internationally recognised research centre focusing on the interdisciplinary social aspects of death, dying and bereavement.
• The Death and Culture Network (DaCNet): Interdisciplinary Death & Culture Research. Based at the University of York, DacNet seeks to explore and understand cultural responses to mortality. Affiliated research groups: Cemetery Research Group and Mummy Research Group.
• Glasgow End of Life Studies Group: an internationally recognised research centre examining end of life issues from an interdisciplinary perspective. Part of the University of Glasgow, they teach undergraduate, postgraduate, and online distance programmes and produce research tackling end of life issues from new perspectives. They also run a free MOOC (Massive Online Open Course) on End of Life Care: Challenges and Innovations.
• Cicely Saunders Institute of Palliative Care, Policy & Rehabilitation: Based at King's College London, The Cicely Saunders Institute is the first purpose-built institute for research into palliative care. The Institute brings together academics, healthcare professionals, community organisations, patients and carers in one centre and acts as the hub for a network of international research.
• Death Research Netherlands (DONE): With more than 30 scientists, the DONE network (Death Research Netherlands) stimulates the academic exchange of knowledge and cooperation in the field of dying and death.
• Fondazione Fabretti: Pioneers in Italy in the field of end-of-life studies, we promote research, dialogue, comparison and support in the face of death and dying.
• The DeathTech Research Team: Based at the University of Melbourne, DeathTech is a group of anthropologists, social scientists, and human-computer interaction specialists working to understand the intersection of death, technology, and society in the 21st century.
• The Association for the Study of Death and Society (ASDS): Promotes the study of death in the arts, humanities, social and allied sciences.
• The Collective for Radical Death Studies (CRDS): An international, professional organization formed to decolonize Death Studies and radicalize death practice.
• Queer Death Studies Network (QDSN): Constitutes a space for researchers, students, artists, activists, and other practitioners who critically and (self) reflexively investigate and challenge conventional normativities, assumptions, expectations, and regimes of truths that are brought to life and made evident by death, dying, and mourning.

Connecting Death Professionals and the Public

• Dying Matters: A coalition of individual and organisational members across England and Wales, which aims to help people talk more openly about dying, death and bereavement, and to make plans for the end of life.
• Life. Death. Whatever.: An initiative to redesign the dialogue around death and dying, to open it up and to find new approaches to this important subject. Began as a festival in partnership with the National Trust; developed into an international community of eclectic people from many different disciplines who are united in a commitment to doing death differently.
• The Good Grief Trust: Exists to help all those suffering grief in the UK. We aim to find the bereaved, acknowledge their grief and provide reassurance, a virtual hand of friendship and ongoing support. Our vision is to bring all bereavement services together around the country, to ensure that everyone receives the support they need to move forward with their lives.
• TalkDeath: TalkDeath’s mission is to encourage positive and constructive conversations around death and dying. TalkDeath also aims to bridge the gap between death professionals and the general public, helping you make informed end-of-life decisions.
• The Order of the Good Death: a group of funeral industry professionals, academics, and artists exploring ways to prepare a death phobic culture for their inevitable mortality.
• When You Die: curates voices from palliative care doctors, leading researchers, death doulas and the bereaved as well as poets, comedians, artists and everyday people. Plus, our team is always creating new content to keep you up-to-the-minute on death news and culture.
• What's Your Grief?: We are mental health professionals with 20+ years of experience in grief and bereavement. Our mission is to promote grief education, exploration, and expression in both practical and creative ways.
• Virtual Funeral Collective: Consisting of a group of over seventy doctors, nurses, scholars, grief therapists, psychologists, funeral home directors, hospice workers, thanatologists, chaplains, hospital administrators and end-of life-practitioners from around the globe, the Virtual Funeral Collective is a group of specialists who work with dying, death, and grief on a daily basis. We are uniquely situated to offer solutions, resources, and training to those dealing with dying, death, and disposition issues stemming from COVID-19.
• Suicide Bereavement UK: specialises in Suicide bereavement research; Providing consultancy on postvention (care of those bereaved by suicide); and Developing and delivering evidence-based suicide bereavement training.
• The Mesothelioma Centre (Asbestos.com) – End of Life Document Checklist: Outlining your wishes is crucial for you and your loved ones if you are living with a terminal illness such as mesothelioma. To help ease the stress and burden of planning, our guide covers all of the important end-of-life documents you need to ensure your wishes are fulfilled.

Death Studies Publications

• Mortality: Journal promoting the interdisciplinary study of death and dying.
• Emerald Studies in Death and Culture: A new forum for the publication of interdisciplinary research that approaches death from a cultural perspective.
• Current Issues in Dark Tourism Research: A World-Leading Resource Hub for Dark Tourism Scholarship.
• Radical Death Studies Canon: Books, essays, blogs, chapters, journal articles, videos, websites, news/magazine articles, and databases that CRDS strongly recommends.
• CDALS publication list.