Members

Prof Tony Walter • Centre Director

 

 

Tony is Professor of Death Studies at the University of Bath. He also works with the churches and Civil Ceremonies Ltd, training funeral celebrants.

Research interests

• The internet and social networks at the end of life
• The sociology of death, dying and bereavement, especially cross-national comparison
• The presence of the dead in society
• The role of angels in contemporary mourning

Download a video of Tony discussing his work »

Dr John Troyer • Centre Deputy Director

 

 

John focuses on locating and defining the concept of the dead body in relation to science and technology. His research on death and dying, coupled with his cultural studies of science and technology research, complements the work already occurring in the Centre.

Research interests

• The social and technological control of the dead body in both time and space through mechanical manipulation of human biology
• The legal, scientific and medical protocols that determine social policies, for example, those which pronounce a time of death for human beings
• The illicit, global trade in human tissues and body parts
• Cultural studies of death and dying
• Death and architecture
• Aesthetics and death

Dr Shahid Perwez

 

 

Shahid is a Research Fellow in International Development, Centre for Development Studies, University of Bath. His doctoral research entitled 'Death before birth: Negotiating reproduction, female infanticide and sex selective abortion in Tamil Nadu, South India,' is an ethnographic study of everyday politics of gender-specific child deaths in the context of international health and development. He is currently revising his doctoral manuscript for its publication into a book.

His previous involvement in a UK government-commissioned study at the University of Warwick led to the publication of "Preventing Childhood Deaths: A study of 'Early Starter' Child Death Overview Panels in England" - a set of important findings on child death review process, which is currently informing the policy and practice of Local Safeguarding Children's Boards."

Research interests

• Child deaths in India and the UK

Dr Hannah Rumble

 

 

Hannah is a  Research Officer in the Department of Social & Policy Sciences at the University of Bath. Hannah was made an Honorary Associate in the Department of Theology and Religion, Centre for Death and Life Studies, at the University of Durham following the completion her PhD.

Hannah is a  STEM social science Ambassador and is keen to give presentations and workshops in schools on funeral rites, natural burial, spirituality and funerals, death and bereavement, amongst many other related topics that are requested in her public engagement and outreach roles. Hannah has worked on a number of  CDAS projects.

Research interests

• woodland and natural burial
• funerary rites
• funeral poverty (see research project)
• young people's responses to death 

To read more about Hannah's work, visit her personal website.

Dr Paula Smith

 

 

Paula is a member of the Department of Psychology at the University of Bath.  She is a Chartered Health Psychologist who also has a nursing background. Her PhD, from the University of Southampton, concerned the support needs of family caregivers in palliative care settings. More recently, Paula has been a lecturer in nursing and was Course Leader for the MSc in Palliative Care at the University of Sheffield.

Paula is currently a member of the steering group of Help the Hospices 'Care for the Carer' project, a five year project aimed at highlighting and supporting carers in hospice settings.

Research Interests

• The support needs of family caregivers in palliative and end of life settings
• Psychological issues of loss grief and bereavement
• Palliative and end of life care for people with non-malignant conditions
• Pain in older people
• Education and continuing professional development for health and social care practitioners

Dr Christine Valentine

 

 

Christine is a Teaching Fellow in the Department of Social and Policy Sciences.  She holds a PhD from the University of Bath, 'Bereavement and Identity: Making sense of Bereavement  in Contemporary British Society.'  She has also researched bereavement, identity and meaning-making in the Japanese context. The findings from these studies have been published in various articles, edited collections and the book ‘Bereavement Narratives: Continuing Bonds in the 21st Century’ (Routledge, 2008). Christine is a founder member of the Association for the Study of Death and Society (ASDS).

Research interests

• The social and cultural shaping of bereavement, including cross-cultural comparison of Britain and Japan, and international comparisons of funeral welfare systems
• The impact of bereavement on identity and the relationship of the individual to society and culture
• Funeral Directing in the 21^st century, including issues of education, professionalisation and regulation
• How bereaved individuals make sense of ‘bad’ deaths, including deaths through substance misuse

Dr Kate Woodthorpe

 

 

Kate joined CDAS in January 2010, where she acted as Programme Leader for the Foundation Degree in Funeral Services until 2012. Since completing her PhD in 2007 Kate has had articles and book chapters published on cemetery usage, the experience of researching in this area, and public dying. More recently, Kate has undertaken research funded by AXA Sunlife Direct on funeral poverty. Kate is co-convenor of the British Sociological Association study group, ‘Social Aspects of Death, Dying and Bereavement’ and Kate has presented papers at a range of academic and non academic conferences, such as the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management Annual Conference.

Research interests

• Funeral costs and social inclusion
• Professionalisation and the deathcare workforce
• Memorialisation and grief behaviour

Kate is happy to supervise PhD students in related areas. Please contact her for an informal chat.

James Earl-Fraser

 

 

James joined the Department of Social & Policy Sciences in October 2012 as Research Administrator from a background in journalism, economics and non-profit development. He works with the department's Research Support Team to assist CDAS researchers fulfil the requirements and potential of their projects.

Currenlty, James is involved with the Understanding and responding to those bereaved through their family members' substance misuse project.

Trudi Gilbank

 

 

Trudi joined the Centre for Death & Society in December 2011 as the Administrator for the Foundation Degree in Funeral Services.

Trudi has a background in administration within the Civil Service having worked for the Insolvency Service for many years, most recently as the Senior Office Manager at the Office of the Official Receiver, Bristol. She was responsible for all recruitment, induction and training and for the day to day running of the office and the team of 30 administration staff. She worked throughout the South West as a NVQ assessor, ran recruitment campaigns across the country and was involved with various focus groups and initiatives looking into Insolvency policy and legislation.

Caron Staley

 

 

Caron joined the Centre for Death and Society in 2006. She manages all events, seminars and conferences organised by CDAS and is the first is the point of contact for all media enquires. She manages the website and public engagement aspects of the Centre's work and oversees the various networks of academics and practitioners in the fields of death and dying studies around the world.

Caron works with CDAS members to develop research proposal submissions, particularly financial and dissemination information, and is involved with a number of current research projects as a member of the project team.

Caron manages a small team of research support administrators who offer a range of services to academics and researchers within the Department of Social & Policy Sciences, and is a member of the Impact Strategy Group for the Department of Social & Policy Sciences, and the Public Engagement Forum at the University of Bath.
 

Prof Malcolm Johnson

 

 

Malcolm is a Visiting Professor with the Department of Social & Policy Sciences and active member of CDAS. He was one of the founding members in 2005.

Malcolm's research and consultancy includes extensive work on the long term care of older people, theories of ageing and on assessment issues. Over the past fifteen years it has extended into end of life care and spirituality in later life.

Research interests

• The social aspects of health and illness
• Biographical studies
• Social policy analysis
• Death and dying
• Ageing and the lifespan
• Long term care of older people
• Spirituality in later life

Dr Una MacConville

 

 

Una MacConville, PhD, is a sociologist and Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Death & Society, Department of Social and Policy Sciences.

Una is currently invoved in developing resources and training for interpreters working with palliative care services in Ireland and for palliative care professionals working with interpreters - funded under the Irish Hospice Foundation Development Grant Scheme.

Una has also conducted research on deathbed experiences, including deathbed visions, in Irish palliative care, funded by the Irish Hospice Foundation and St Francis Hospice, and is also involved in a range of research and teaching activity.

Research interests

• Palliative care
• Religion and spirituality
• Roadside memorials
• After-life communication
• End of life care needs for people with dementia
• Cultural aspects of death, dying and bereavement