5th – 8th September 2013
The Open University, Milton Keynes
We are delighted to announce that The Open University, Milton Keynes will be hosting the 11th international Death, Dying and Disposal conference from the 5th – 8th September 2013.
Held under the auspices of ASDS (The Association for the Study of Death and Society), DDD11 will bring together practitioners and academics from a range of disciplines in the humanities and practice. This year’s conference theme Where theory meets practice will explore how ideas impact upon the reality of death and dying and how practice impacts upon ideas. We will include the role of literature, empirical research, art, history, religion and cultural diversity in a range of keynote presentations and invited papers from peer reviewed abstracts.
Dr Carol Komaromy, Open University Senior Lecturer and expert in death and dying studies, introduces DDD11:
DDD has always been a multidisciplinary conference and this year will be no exception. Theories and Practice/Practice and Theories play into each other. This applies as much to interdisciplinary academics as to cross-practice professionals. DDD conferences allow practitioners and academics from clinical, health, welfare, and funerary professional settings and from other arts-humanities and social science worlds to offer their findings and to listen-in on each other’s work. The media and press have also often found this creative mix appeals to what so many people now think about, and anticipate in death dying and disposal. This year’s conference has a special interest in understanding current policies and practices affecting our broad area of DDD, but retains its consistent interests across the many disciplines and societies from which conference delegates come.
DDD11 Programme
This year’s conference will include keynote lectures from both expert practitioners and academics, which will be exploring different aspects of the conference theme, from death and dying in the gothic novel to improving end of life care for dying children.
Each day will include a range of parallel sessions which will be themed into strands and will comprise the major forum for the sharing of ideas.
We are pleased to welcome two innovative exhibitions to the OU, from Artist Graham Dolphin and Vic Fearn & Company Ltd’s Crazy Coffins, both of which will be exploring the role of personalised memorials.
We will also be offering two optional excursions to the Olney Green Burial Ground and the brand new Oak Chapel at Crownhill Crematorium.
Find out more about the DDD11 programme and speakers
Download a copy of our event e-flyer
Registration Deadline Extended
Due to popular demand, we have extended the registration deadline for this event. Registrations will now close at 5pm on Friday 9th August 2013. We are offering a number of different conference packages from one day to four day passes. Full details can be found on our DDD conference packages page.
Accommodation
Accommodation is not included in the price of any of our conference packages.
Bookings can be made at a number of local hotels where we have made some group reservations. Further information can be found on our conference accommodation page.
Conference sponsor
We are delighted to welcome event sponsors Flexmort to DDD13. Flexmort was formed in 2010 by an ex-police offer who felt there was a better way to care for the deceased. Flexmort are a UK manufacturer and focus on innovation within the mortuary environment and the development of products which assist in the care of the deceased across the globe. Flexmort’s body storage products have revolutionised the concept of body storage allowing the deceased to be cooled with dignity and without the need for large, heavy traditional mortuary refrigerators. Their customers in the UK include a growing number of hospitals and hospices, as well as funeral directors. Flexmort is recognised within NHS guidance on dealing with the deceased and were winners of the Big Ideas award at the University of Warwick.
Flexmort will be attending for the duration of the conference and will be introducing their products with a short guest presentation. They will also be bringing product samples and information along with them to exhibit in our main conference theatre where Simon and Steve from Flexmort will be on hand to answer your queries.
To find out more about Flexmort please visit their website.