*** This lecture takes place in Dutch ***
The popularity of ecological burial methods is on the rise. Humusation or resomation are considered alternatives to the traditional coffin. Mycelium is explored as an alternative and more sustainable coffin material. In this last sessions, we discuss the practical and philosophical ideas behind ecological burial methods.
We welcome Lisa Doeland (RUG) and Brenda Mathijssen (RUG). Moderation by Evy Kempenaers (journalist).
Dr. Brenda Mathijssen is an associate professor at the Faculty of Religion Culture and Society at the University of Groningen. Her research focuses on innovations in human coping with dying, death and mourning in contemporary Europe. She is currently working on an NWO research project mapping the emergence and significance of sustainable funeral practices in the Netherlands, with a particular focus on natural burial and ossification.
Lisa Doeland is a philosopher. She works at Erasmus University and the University of Amsterdam, where she teaches on the climate crisis, the underground and the apocalypse, among other subjects. She is doing PhD research on the various and strange ways in which we are haunted by waste and regularly writes essays for De Groene Amsterdammer, Wijsgerig Perspectief and the Nederlandse Boekengids, among others. She recently published Apocalypsofie. Over recycling, groene groei en andere gevaarlijke fantasieën. Previously, together with Elize de Mul and Naomi Jacobs, she wrote Onszelf voorbij. Kijken naar wat we liever niet zien (2018).
Evy Kempenaers is a social and cultural anthropologist, writer/journalist, ceremony facilitator and moral consultant. She studied medical anthropology and is especially interested in the perception of illness and health in various social and cultural contexts. She is passionate about narrative care and rituals and works as a life story writer and ceremony counsellor. As a liberal humanist counsellor, she is attached to Het huis van de mens, where she focuses on conversations about existential themes and questions of meaning. As a journalist, she has written numerous articles and human interest reports on themes such as farewell, loss and mourning.