Talking About Death: Building Community Conversations About Dying, Grief and Care

Break the silence around death and dying through expert discussion and facilitated community conversations.

Despite the inevitability of death and dying, they remain social taboos such that the silence around them leads people to be unprepared, feel isolated and afraid. These experiences compound for patients undergoing cancer treatment, who live with uncertainty.

This event meets death and dying head-on, and – taking a social scientific lens – is inspired by the recent release of the book Being Patient: Close Encounters in a Cancer World. The event is designed to be accessible, engaging and relevant to people from diverse backgrounds and levels of familiarity with the topic and is intended for a broad public audience.

The two-part event, facilitated by The Care Lab Lead, Professor Emma Kirby (UNSW), will comprise a panel discussion followed by facilitated round-table conversations inspired by the Death Café model. Speakers include Professor Louise Chappell (UNSW) and Dr Na’ama Carlin (UNSW), co-authors of Being Patient: Close Encounters in a Cancer World; Dr Hannah Gould (University of Melbourne), author of How to Die in the 21st Century; PhD candidate Cindy Stocken (University of Melbourne), who researches living wakes; and Jodie Clarkson, consumer representative for Palliative Care Northern Territory. Together, the speakers will bring social science, professional and lived perspectives to conversations about dying, grief and care.

Attendees are invited to enjoy light refreshments, which will be served during the event.

This event is presented in partnership with the UNSW School of Social Sciences and The Australian Sociological Association.