‘Death in modern Scotland, 1855-1955: beliefs, attitudes and practices’

New College, University of Edinburgh, Friday 1 February 2013 – Saturday 3 February, 2013.

‘There remains a huge agenda for death research, offering a unique vantage point for the study of Scottish history’ (Professor Elaine McFarland of Glasgow Metropolitan University, 2004). Since those words were written, there have been increasing signs of interest, research and publications in death studies in Scotland.

This conference invites those who are researching death from whatever disciplinary perspective to offer papers whose total range will illuminate one hundred years of death in modern Scotland. These hundred years began with the passing of the Registration Act and the Burial Grounds (Scotland) Act in 1855 and end with the opening of Daldowie Crematorium in 1955.

Plenary speakers include:

Professor Elaine McFarland, Dr Elizabeth Cumming and Professor Hilary J. Grainger.

Papers will be particularly welcome on the subjects of:

• death, grief and mourning;
• funeral rites and rituals; customs and costume;
• demographic and statistical interpretations; registration of death;
• public health and medicine;
• death, poverty, gender and social class
• death, urban and rural comparisons
• burial and cremation;
• the development of funeral directing services;
• theology, liturgy and funeral ministry;
• monuments and memorialisation;
• issues of architecture and landscape design;
• the folklore of death; ghost narratives and beliefs; spiritualism;
• death in war-time;
• death, grief, mourning;
• death in literature and the arts;
• death and Scottish law;
• violent death; the death penalty;
• disasters: air, rail, sea and industrial;

Established research and work-in-progress welcomed.

Abstracts of 200 words maximum may be sent to Peter C. Jupp, Braddan House, High Street, Duddington, Stamford, Lincs PE9 3QE email peterc.jupp@btinternet.com or peter.c.jupp@ed.ac.uk

A follow-up call for papers with full conference details and names of plenary speakers will be published soon.

Revd Dr Peter C. Jupp,

Honorary Fellow,

Department of Divinity,

University of Edinburgh, UK.