Funerals from an expert perspective Dr Julie Rugg, Department of Social Policy and Social Work

Event details

Grief: A Study of Human Emotional Experience - open lecture

'Experts by experience' is a project which aimed to understand what elements of the funeral carried long-term meaning for the people involved in arranging, participating and attending them. The project conducted 50 semi-structured interviews with people who were invited to talk in detail about a death and the subsequent funeral. Respondents were not asked to choose 'bad' or 'good' funerals, and the study represents a selection of typical funerals which have taken place in England. Most respondents discussed a funeral that had happened within the last five years.

The research indicates that it is important not to be prescriptive about what bereaved people 'need' from the funeral, and the funeral service itself is not necessarily the most important element of ritual activity following a death. Join Dr Julie Rugg of the Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University of York.