This thesis aims to understand digital mourning practices on Italian Facebookpublic pages dedicated to bereavement, by studying how the users interact with eachother and the platform.Italian funerary rites are richly engraved in the culture, however, mourningpractices have been increasingly changing, especially in the last decade. Facebook andother Social Networking Sites play a major role in this transformation. In this thesisFacebook is considered as thanatechnology, a term introduced by Carla Sofka in SocialSupport “Internetworks,” Caskets for Sale, and More: Thanatology and the InformationSuperhighway to describe an interdisciplinary perspective of technologies used to getinformation and aid about topics related to death and bereavement (1997 p: 554). The literature review in this research shows that technology and death can be studiedthrough different lenses and with multidisciplinary approaches. Overall, the literaturereview here presented highlights some gaps: the lack of cultural specificity of thestudies and the scarce attention paid to digital communities created by users. Theseelements represent the basis of the thesis.In order to understand how mourning practices are conducted on digitalbereavement public pages the research draws theoretical notions mainly from MediaExistentialism which explains the use of these media as tools to explore life in relationto traumas, loss, grief and death (Lagerkvist, 2016, pp: 96-110). Furthermore,Continuing Bonds Theory (Field et al, 2006, p: 297) and Uses and Gratifications Theory(Katz et al, 1973, pp: 509-521) are used in order to enrich the theoretical landscape bytrying to understand the mechanisms of the behaviours observed.This thesis employs a methodology heavily based on netnography, laterexpanded by including visual analysis, supported by Roland Barthes’ semiotic theory (1964, pp:152-163). The results reveal how Italian Facebook public pages dedicated tobereavement can be understood as lifeline for those who are mourning a loss. Thefindings not only highlight the relationship between the theories mentioned before, butthey also show tight connection between the digital medium and how the mourner usesit: in order to keep a bond with the deceased the griever utilizes the SNS and adapts tothe logics of the medium. In this regard, the research also shows that the meaning oftraditional funerary symbols is sometimes kept intact in digital environments: they areindicators of certain beliefs, such as the idea that the dead reside within the technology, in a sort of heaven. This last aspect can be a starting point for further research in orderto gain better understanding of how digital mourning practices can impact local funerarytraditions: in particular how new and old forms of grieving are negotiated by themourners. Moreover, the increasingly growing body of research in death studies andcommunication suggests an interest in these practices.

Yes / The Dying to Talk project in Bradford, UK aimed to build resilience in young people around the topic of death, dying and bereavement. Starting conversations early in life could buttress people’s future wellbeing when faced with bereavement and indeed their own mortality. Research indicates that a key feature in young people’s experience of bereavement is ‘powerlessness’ (Ribbens McCarthy, 2007). Drawing on the principles of co-production, young people led the development of the project aimed at encouraging young people to talk about death, using archaeology as a facilitator to those conversations. The partnership between the University of Bradford, the voluntary sector and the young people proved to be a positive and empowering one. It laid the foundations for future collaboration and developed a framework for engaging young people in talking about death, building their resilience for dealing with death and dying in the future – a step towards building a ‘compassionate city’ for young people (Kellehear, 2012) / University of Bradford, Higher Education Innovation Fund; AHRC

Yes

Yes / While death is universal, reactions to death and ways of dealing with the dead body are hugely diverse, and archaeological research reveals numerous ways of dealing with the dead through time and across the world. In this paper, findings are presented which not only demonstrate the power of archaeology to promote and aid discussion around this difficult and challenging topic, but also how our approach resulted in personal growth and professional development impacts for participants. In this interdisciplinary pilot study, archaeological case studies were used in 31 structured workshops with 187 participants from health and social care backgrounds in the UK, to explore their reactions to a diverse range of materials which documented wide and varied approaches to death and the dead. Our study supports the hypothesis that the past is a powerful instigator of conversation around challenging aspects of death, and after death care and practices: 93% of participants agreed with this. That exposure to archaeological case studies and artefacts stimulates multifaceted discourse, some of it difficult, is a theme that also emerges in our data from pre, post and follow-up questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews. The material prompted participants to reflect on their biases, expectations and norms around both treatment of the dead, and of bereavement, impacting on their values, attitudes and beliefs. Moreover, 87% of participants believed the workshop would have a personal effect through thinking differently about death and bereavement, and 57% thought it would impact on how they approached death and bereavement in their professional practice. This has huge implications today, where talk of death remains troublesome, and for some, has a near-taboo status – ‘taboo’ being a theme evident in some participants’ own words. The findings have an important role to play in facilitating and normalising discussions around dying and bereavement and in equipping professionals in their work with people with advanced illness. / The project ‘Continuing Bonds: Exploring the meaning and legacy of death through past and contemporary practice’ was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, Grant Number AH/M008266/1. / Research Development Fund Publication Prize Award winner, Dec 2020.

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