Professor Douglas Davies on the development of death studies, ‘words against death’, the ‘dividual’, religion, ‘sacred secrets’, the ‘opacity of the self’ and the ‘curated everything’
The Death Studies PodcastShow Notes
What's the episode about?
In this episode, hear Professor Douglas Davies on thedevelopment of death studies, ‘words against death’, the ‘dividual’, religion, ‘sacred secrets’, the ‘opacity of the self’ and the ‘curated everything’, keeping a dream diaries since 1979, the over-optimism of posthumanism, wealth inequality, & the privilege of intellectuals as ‘people who think’.
Who is Douglas?
This introduction to Douglas Davies was written by DrGeorgina Robinson, who awarded Douglas with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2025 Death, dying and Disposal Conference in Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Douglas Davies is a name known to all who work in theinterdisciplinary field of Death Studies. From early career scholars, fresh in the field, through to senior colleagues who have themselves deeply influenced the field, the stories that people tell of their experiences of Douglas are always warm and encouraging, yet unique to the individual: the time and careDouglas gives to all who encounter him is a true testament of his character.
As a founding member of ASDS and editorial board member ofMortality Douglas has always offered a home to Death Studies scholars, having hosted numerous Death Studies events, including the International Conference onthe Social Context of Death, Dying, and Disposal and the inaugural International Symposium of the Death Online Research Network (DORS#1), as well as events for funerary professionals, including numerous Summer Schools of theNational Association of Funeral Directors.
Alongside these external events, Douglas has also welcomedcountless students, researchers, and professional colleagues to Durham during his time as Director of Durham University’s Centre for Death and Life Studies through visiting professorships, library scholarships to work in the Archivesof the Cremation Society of Great Britain, alongside conferences hosted by the Centre. What is unique about Douglas is that despite his countless works whichhave deeply influenced scholarly thinking within the field, more often than not, it is a conversation or engagement with him that sticks with Death Studies scholars: his kindness and encouraging nature are second-to-none.
Nevertheless, the significant impact that his countlessworks have had – both academically and practically, with his work impacting policy changes and the funeral sector itself – must not be understated (e.g., Mors Britannica, 2015; Death, Ritual and Belief, 3 editions 1997, 2002, 2017;Natural Burial, 2012; A Brief History of Death, 2005; Theology of Death, 2008). Significantly, 2025 marks 50 years of Douglas's career in academia: how fitting that the association he was formative in establishing would award him with thehonour of Lifetime Achievement Award this year.
How do I cite the episode in my research and reading lists?
To cite this episode, you can use the following citation: Davies, D. (2025) Interview on The Death StudiesPodcast hosted by Michael-Fox, B. and Visser, R. Published 1 December 2025.Available at: www.thedeathstudiespodcast.com, DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.30752183
What next? Check out more episodes or find out more about the hosts! Gota question? Get in touch.
More from The Death Studies Podcast
Who is Jane? Jane McCarthy is an English sociologist who has worked for many decades across various disciplines to focuson ‘family’, childhood, and relationality. In the last 25 years,since the death of her husband when their daughter was aged 5, she has built on this earlier work to explore death and its continuing aftermath in the everyday relational lives of the living, alongside ‘family troubles’ more broadly. She has approached these topics in terms of lived experiences, academic approaches, and professional practices and services. She has particularly offered a view of bereavement as a source of change, rather than the narrower view of ‘loss’, including in the lives of children experiencing a significant death in their lives. Her general approach to all these subjects is to set aside what may be considered ‘healthy’ or ‘unhealthy’, ‘harmful’ or ‘beneficial’, and rather to focus on how disruptive change may be experienced in everyday relational lives, with multiple ramifications, and how people themselves make sense of these within the circumstances of their lives. Some of Jane’s work has involved research and collaborations in Senegal and China, but her primary experience is UK based, where she has particularly valued her involvement with the Community Voices network.
What's the episode about? In this episode, hear about an event on Love and Loss: A DayAt Arnos Vale Historic Garden Cemetery, Bristol discussing love, romance, sex, death, culture, prison writing, slow suicide, creative writing, obituaries, epitaphs and more.
Dead Women and Gendered Death in Visual Culture for MAI: Feminism and Visual Culture