Book review: the politics of intimacy: rethinking the end-of-life controversy by Anna Durnová

In The Politics of Intimacy: Rethinking the End-of-Life Controversy, Anna Durnová explores the recent negotiation of end-of-life policies in France and the Czech Republic, arguing for the need for academic analysis to include the emotional experience of the end of life in order to understand the political dynamics of these debates. Durnová’s invitation to explore and to centre the concept of intimacy within liberal institutions and policies – or to even acknowledge the role that emotional experience plays in these – is a necessary engagement in our present times, writes Danielle House

Knowing Through Needlework: Curating the Difficult Knowledge of Conflict Textiles

Drawing on our experience of commissioning and co-curating an exhibition of international conflict textiles – appliquéd wall-hangings (arpilleras), quilts, embroidered handkerchiefs, banners, ribbons, and mixed-media art addressing topics such as forced disappearances, military dictatorship, and drone warfare – this article introduces these textiles as bearers of knowledge for the study of war and militarized violence, and curating as a methodology to care for the unsettling, difficult knowledge they carry. Firstly, we explain how conflict textiles as object witnesses voice difficult knowledge in documentary, visual and sensory registers, some of which are specific to their textile material quality. Secondly, we explore curating conflict textiles as a methodology of ‘caring for’ this knowledge. We suggest that the conflict textiles in our exhibition brought about an affective force in many of its visitors, resulting in some cases in a transformation of thought

Dundee, migration, and the historic jute trade: interweaving Bengali-Dundee cemetery practices and spaces

In this chapter we draw on both postcolonial and mobilities scholarship to engage with the neglected intersections between mobilities and colonialism. Specifically, we argue this colonial legacy set the conditions for present day Bengali and other Scottish Muslims to create their understandings of home and belonging. We explore this idea through the development and negotiation of Muslim burial space in the city, and see how the claiming of rights, in this case the right to a dignified burial, is entangled with multi-generational senses of belonging, practices of faith, and experiences of bureaucracy. We first explore the legacy of colonial connections between Dundee and the Bengal Delta and outline the history of the jute trade between these regions. After a brief discussion on methodology, we secondly discuss Dundee’s Muslim communities and their histories and experiences of migration. Finally, we trace the development of Muslim burial in the city to situate ethnic difference within a wider landscape of citizenship and belonging. We argue that through situating the death practices and decision-making of ethnic minority communities within a wider understanding of how mobilities impact upon their life experiences, and within a larger postcolonial context, we understand spaces of death as part of the making of minority identities in Scotland

Temporalities of cemeteries: the tensions and flows of perpetuity and change in ‘slow’ places

Cemeteries in the UK and Ireland are typically viewed as a final ‘place of rest’ for the deceased where their remains will not be disturbed. This sense is at least in some part created by the norm of in-perpetuity grave rights in these countries. Yet while ‘inperpetuity’ suggests fixity, it is defined and managed in varying ways in different settings, including an ultimate fixed term for some graves and cemeteries. Over decades, in-perpetuity cemeteries and cemetery policies adapt to and reflect changes in cultural trends, national and local politics, cemetery management, planning, regeneration, and other pressures on land, as well as the changes that occur in the natural environment in which they are situated. In this article, we explore the rhythms and temporalities of cemeteries characterised by in-perpetuity grave rights, by looking at how the tensions between perpetuity and change are perceived, experienced, and managed by burial service staff and varied communities who use them. In-perpetuity grave rights impact the management of cemeteries, their material form, and how they are used. A focus on the temporalities and rhythms of cemeteries in the UK and Ireland enables a reconsideration of the concepts of perpetuity and change in death and remembrance

Temporalities of cemeteries: The tensions and flows of perpetuity and change in ‘slow’ places

Cemeteries in the UK and Ireland are typically viewed as a final ‘place of rest’ for the deceased where their remains will not be disturbed. This sense is at least in some part created by the norm of in-perpetuity grave rights in these countries. Yet while ‘in-perpetuity’ suggests fixity, it is defined and managed in varying ways in different settings, including an ultimate fixed term for some graves and cemeteries. Over decades, in-perpetuity cemeteries and cemetery policies adapt to and reflect changes in cultural trends, national and local politics, cemetery management, planning, regeneration, and other pressures on land, as well as the changes that occur in the natural environment in which they are situated. In this article, we explore the rhythms and temporalities of cemeteries characterised by in-perpetuity grave rights, by looking at how the tensions between perpetuity and change are perceived, experienced, and managed by burial service staff and varied communities who use them. In-perpetuity grave rights impact the management of cemeteries, their material form, and how they are used. A focus on the temporalities and rhythms of cemeteries in the UK and Ireland enables a reconsideration of the concepts of perpetuity and change in death and remembrance

Rules, Norms and Practices – A Comparative Study Exploring Disposal Practices and Facilities in Northern Europe

We identify and analyse practices and management regimes around burial and handling of ashes across eight case study towns within six Northern European countries. We analyse management of cemeteries and crematoria gardens, majority practices and provision for minority communities, including various burial types, cremated remains, the re-use of graves, and costs for interments. Comparative data is drawn from analysis of national and local regulations, interviews with stakeholders, and observations at cemeteries and crematoria gardens. The findings show significant variation in national and local regulations and practices for burial and cremation particularly around the re-use of graves, handling of ashes and costs for grave space and cremation. We identify the opportunities and constraints of these variations in terms of accessibility, diversity and equality; and argue for national directions to avoid unequal treatment within nations. Furthermore, we stress the importance of a liberal and inclusive management of European cemeteries and crematoria gardens