Theme: Death Care
For this 18th edition of the Death, Dying and Disposal (DDD) Conference, we invite sessions that explore the broad topic of Death Care.
We want to foster conversations on the ways in which we care for the dying, for dead bodies, the environment, the bereaved, each other and ourselves when confronted with dying, death, disposal, and grief. This includes discussions on the way macro factors and structural conditions (such as care regimes, labour regimes, legal frameworks) shape the ways in which care is organised around the end of life. Additionally, the concept of care itself invites questions about the limits of care, the ethics and sustainability of care, the institutional, local and historical context of care practices in various cultures and diverse societies, as well as issues of power dynamics and care. Contributions from different global regions are encouraged to foster international exchange of experiences, challenges, and innovative practices.
Below are some ideas for questions that can be addressed. This list is not meant to be exhaustive.
Care for the dying
- What dimensions should palliative and end-of-life care cover, beyond the conventional medical focus of palliative care?
- How to accommodate shifting palliative care ecosystems (such as the Belgian trend of more people wishing to die at home or the loss of certain traditions and rituals due to secularisation)?
- How is palliative care challenged by multicultural and multiconfessional social settings?
- Under which circumstances and in what ways can assisted dying be considered a form of care?
- What does death literacy consist of and how can it manifest a form of caring for the dying?
- How can bereavement care become part of palliative care?
- How can we better recognize and address anticipatory grief?
Care for dead bodies
- How do changing societies drive changes in practices and preferences around funeral methods and rituals?
- How can societies care for dead bodies with dignity during crises (such as natural disasters or pandemics), while responding to diverse cultural, religious, social, public health, and environmental needs?
- How can we address legal challenges related to the dead body, e.g. regarding the protection of the deceased, legal frameworks for body donation or organ donation, innovative methods of corpse disposal or the accommodation of funeral preferences of religious minorities?
- What parameters can be used to evaluate innovative disposal methods, such as alkaline hydrolysis (resomation) and human composting (humusation) from ethical, legal, environmental, and sociological, perspectives?
- What can forensic medicine teach us about the care for dead bodies?
- How can local municipalities care for their inhabitants through development and maintenance of sustainable cemeteries and supporting services?
Care for the environment
- What is the environmental impact of various end-of-life choices and disposal methods?
- How can we cultivate the incorporation of environmental ethics into funeral choices?
- What new rituals or aesthetics are needed to facilitate choices of the least environmentally impactful/most sustainable options?
- How can we compare and prioritise contributions to the various components of Sustainable Development Goals?
- How to avoid unduly narrow readings of sustainability given the broad understanding of the SDG's? Are there possible trade-offs to be made between different SDG's?
Care for each other
- What is the role of cities, neighborhoods, workplaces and schools in supporting people confronted with serious illness, death, loss and grief?
- How can compassionate communities build and be responsive to death literacy and grief literacy?
- How well is transitional bereavement care embedded in organisations?
- What can be learned from queer, crip, decolonial and other communities of minorities who have developed support systems and rituals without official recognition?
- When does compassion become a form of stolen grief?
Care for ourselves
- How are researchers and professionals working in or on the field of death care affected by repeated encounters with dying, death and grief?
- Does it make sense to recognize forms of professional or disenfranchised grief among caregivers and death-care professionals?
- How can institutions (e.g. research institutes, hospitals or other healthcare facilities) create sustainable cultures of care rather than relying primarily on individual resilience or self-care?
- How can formal and informal carers be supported to take care of themselves to avoid burnout and compassion fatigue? How to deal with conflicts between workplace demands and personal values?
We invite scholars, practitioners and artists to submit a proposal for papers, organized panels, roundtables, workshops or other formats by 19 December 2026. More information on each submission format can be found in the document above.
No exceptions to the deadline are possible.
Submission links
We encourage proposals in the following formats. All proposals need to be submitted through Oxford Abstracts. Please click on your preferred format to go to the submission form.
Antwerp conference (22-24 September)
- Individual papers (in-person)
- Organised panels (in-person)
- Roundtables
- Workshops
- Other formats (e.g. artistic interventions, exhibitions, performances)
Online conference (17 September)
Note on conference location
In addition to the three-day conference in Antwerp (22-24 September 2027), we are hosting an online conference day on Friday 17 September.
You already need to decide for which part of the conference your contribution is intended before selecting the right proposal form.
During the online day we want to prioritise hearing from those who are unable to join us in Antwerp. We only have limited presentation spots available for the online conference. Hence, we ask anyone who is able to join us in Antwerp to submit abstracts or proposals only for the in-person conference. This way, those unable to travel have better chances of presenting at our online conference.
Attendance of the online conference will be included in the Antwerp conference ticket.
Note on acceptance
Notification of acceptance: before the end of March 2027