Death Rituals Series: Everyday Death Rituals with John Troyer

Death Technology is on the table today!

For the fifth episode in our Death Rituals series, we are joined by John Troyer. John Troyer is a leading scholar in the field of death studies and a former director of the Centre for Death and Society at the University of Bath. Growing up in a family funeral business, his work explores how technology, culture, and policy shape the ways societies understand and care for the dead. He writes and speaks widely about the future of cemeteries, the politics of human remains, and how innovations in science and technology are changing our relationship with death. Troyer is also the author of the book Technologies of the Human Corpse. 

John Troyer joins us to discuss how his personal experience with death and grief inspired him to start the popular Grief and Support network at the University of Bath. He dives into how everyday death rituals inform our grief and the ways in which death technology has evolved over time, from handheld pictures to digital remains. Finally, John Troyer breaks down resounding debates in the field of bioethics, revealing where they stand today. What results is a fascinating conversation that divulges into the specificity of grief, power of ritualizing, and importance of having open conversations surrounding death and dying.

Listen to the full episode, out now on your favorite podcast platform. 

Learn more about John Troyer.

Read A Beginners Guide to the End: Practical Advice for Living Life and Facing Death by Shoshana Berger and B.J. Miller

Read Technologies of the Human Corpse by John Troyer.

Read The Craft of Dying: The Modern Face of Death by Lyn Lofland.

Check out The Centre for Death and Society at the University of Bath.

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