Death and Other Stories: Final Disposition and Funerals

Technology is transforming our relationship with dying and grief. Michelle Desmond is a successful corporate business leader turned thanatologist (expert in death and all types of bereavement) who has experienced a lifetime of close personal losses. Michelle has a passion for the impact tech has (and will have) on these essential human experiences. Through engaging conversations on a range of topics, as well as science-backed analysis, she uncovers the stories, ideas, and innovations changing the way we approach grief and death.  In this episode, Michelle speaks with Liz Willis (a business leader and mother of three with numerous personal interests) about death postivity, what happens to our bodies when we die, and how we celebrate lives - all with a focus on the role of technology. The conversation is followed by an analysis of the dynamics of the disposition and funeral industries, including how technology affects them.      References: Cirigliano, D. L. (2023). Natural organic reduction as a means of body disposition. OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying, 88(2), 765-773. https://doi.org/10.1177/00302228231160341 Crawford, J. E., & Holaway, R. (2020). To everything there is a season–A time to live and a time to die: A case study of the history, customs, emerging trends, and market responses in the final disposition industry. Atlantic Marketing Journal,9(2), 5. Dawson, G. D., Santos, J. F., & Burdick, D. C. (1990). Differences in final arrangements between burial and cremation as the method of body disposition. OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying, 21(2), 129–146. https://doi.org/10.2190/BVE1-11TH-E6JM-TLVP DeBerry-Spence, B., & Trujillo-Torres, L. (2022). "Don't give us death like this!" Commemorating death in the age of COVID-19. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 7(1), 27–35. https://doi.org/10.1086/711832 Dickinson, G. E. (2012). Diversity in death: Body disposition and memorialization. Illness, Crisis & Loss, 20(2), 141–158. https://doi.org/10.2190/IL.20.2.d Gibbs, M., Meese, J., Arnold, M., Nansen, B., & Carter, M. (2015). # Funeral and Instagram: Death, social media, and platform vernacular. Information, Communication & Society, 18(3), 255–268. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2014.987152 Irion, P. E. (1991). Changing patterns of ritual response to death. OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying, 22(3), 159–172. https://doi.org/10.2190/1MY9-7P2B-GWF2-A53X Mitima-Verloop, H. B., Mooren, T. T. M., & Boelen, P. A. (2021). Facilitating grief: An exploration of the function of funerals and rituals in relation to grief reactions. Death Studies, 45(9), 735–745. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2019.1686090 Nansen, B., Kohn, T., Arnold, M., van Ryn, L., & Gibbs, M. (2017). Social media in the funeral industry: On the digitization of grief. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 61(1), 73–89. https://doi.org/10.1080/08838151.2016.1273925 Ramshaw, E. (2010). The personalization of postmodern post-mortem rituals. Pastoral Psychology, 59(2), 171–178. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-009-0234-6 Sarra, C. (2022). Physical and virtual spaces of grieving: Redefining commemoration via digital tools in COVID-19. https://repository.tudelft.nl/islandora/object/uuid%3A728a9f63-fb8c-49fe-a814-2b6dd44bcb28 Sheng, X., Simpson, P. M., & Siguaw, J. A. (2019). Emotions, deliberations, and end‐of‐life products. Psychology & Marketing, 36(7), 659–674. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21203 Van Ryn, L., Meese, J., Arnold, M., Nansen, B., Gibbs, M., & Kohn, T. (2019). Managing the consumption of death and digital media: The funeral director as market intermediary. Death Studies, 43(7), 446–455. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2018.1522387 Walter, T., Hourizi, R., Moncur, W., & Pitsillides, S. (2012). Does the internet change how we die and mourn? Overview and analysis. Omega-Journal of Death and Dying, 64(4), 275–302.