Death in Africa: A history c.1800 to present day
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: History
Abstract
The current HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa has focused attention on the ways in which death is managed/ and understood in African societies. This project will provide an historical account of the meanings and management of death in East, Central and Southern Africa from c1800 to the present. Amongst the issues we will examine are these: the responses of African societies to dramatic demographic change; the political role played by death rituals and funerals; the impact of Christianity and Islam on beliefs about death; the impact of urbanisation and the rise of a funeral industry in Africa.
Organisations
- University of Cambridge (Lead Research Organisation)
- University of Arizona (Collaboration)
- OXFORD BROOKES UNIVERSITY (Collaboration)
- Goldsmiths University of London (Collaboration)
- University of Malawi (Collaboration)
- University of Swaziland (Collaboration)
- TEES, ESK AND WEAR VALLEYS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE (Collaboration)
- University of Cape Town (Collaboration)
- African Mental Health Foundation (Collaboration)
- School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London) (Collaboration)
People |
ORCID iD |
| Megan Vaughan (Principal Investigator) | |
| Rebekah Lee (Co-Investigator) |
Publications
Lee R
(2011)
DEATH 'ON THE MOVE': FUNERALS, ENTREPRENEURS AND THE RURAL-URBAN NEXUS IN SOUTH AFRICA
in Africa
Bernault F
(2010)
Colonial bones: the 2006 burial of Savorgnan de Brazza in the Congo.
in African affairs
Lamont M
(2012)
Accidents Have No Cure! Road Death as Industrial Catastrophe in Eastern Africa
in African Studies
Noret J
(2012)
Grief as Social Fact: Notes from Southern Benin
in African Studies
Vaughan M
(2012)
The Discovery of Suicide in Eastern and Southern Africa
in African Studies
Nunez L
(2012)
Chronicles of Death Out of Place: Management of Migrant Death in Johannesburg
in African Studies
Mususa P
(2012)
Topping Up: Life Amidst Hardship and Death on the Copperbelt
in African Studies
Lee R
(2012)
Death in Slow Motion: Funerals, Ritual Practice and Road Danger in South Africa
in African Studies
DeGelder M
(2012)
'It's not right!': Death as Gendered Experience in Contemporary South Africa
in African Studies
| Title | Documentary: Price of Death |
| Description | Lee directed and produced an ethnographic documentary on the funeral industry in contemporary urban South Africa. Screenings: 10 May 2012, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University; Royal Anthropological Institute International Festival of Ethnographic Film, Edinburgh, June 2013; Institute for the Humanities in Africa, University of Cape Town, South Africa, May 2013; Department of Anthropology, Stellenbosch University, South Africa, May 2013; Community screening, Khayelitsha township, Cape Town, South Africa, May 2013; University of Oxford, October 2013; University of London, October 2013; University of Paris-Nanterre, November 2013. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2012 |
| Impact | In March 2013 she was invited to discuss her documentary film on the funeral business in South Africa with Henry Bonsu on the television programme 'Shoot the Messenger' (Vox Africa station, part of Sky television). Goldsmiths hosted an online screening of her documentary film and a webchat with the director in May 2013. Lee's documentary film 'The Price of Death' received the Richard Werbner Prize for Visual Ethnography at the Royal Anthropological Institute's International Festival of Ethnographic Film (June 2013). The film was screened in South Africa, at the University of Cape Town and Stellenbosch University, in May 2013. The film was the main feature at a community event in Khayelitsha township, Cape Town, in May 2013 and members of the local community were invited to attend. The screening was organised alongside a panel discussion which included a local pastor, the programme director of a local HIV/AIDS advocacy organisation (Yabonga), and two African undertakers. The film generated heated debate and discussion between members of the public and the undertakers, largely around how best to manage the unscrupulous practices of some township funeral parlours, which were seen as taking advantage of widespread mortality and increased consumerism. Both audience members and panellists agreed that the film deserved further community screenings, as the issue of the spiralling cost of funerals is a pressing concern for most township residents. The film has been shown to NGOs such as Educo Africa and The Warehouse, and will become part of their outreach activities, in particular to augment staff training and facilitation around issues such as grief and loss. The co-founder of the US-based organisation The School of Lost Borders, has brought a copy of the film back with her to the United States to increase awareness of the South African context of death and dying, and as preparation for the organisation's workshops and courses on death and the dying process |
| URL | https://vimeo.com/62117549 |
| Description | The 'ways of death' that have evolved in Eastern and Southern Africa since 1800 are not easily subsumed within a simple narrative of 'modernity', though this does not mean that they have been unchanging. Our work shows that much of the current research on the impact of HIV/AIDS needs to be set within a broader and more historical context. An 'epidemiological turn' in discussions of road safety, influenced by HIV/AIDS discourses, tends to obscure African accounts of road deaths which may emphasise the importance of infrastructural legacies (of colonialism and apartheid) and psycho-social constructions of road danger. The social and political meanings of suicide are changing, and suicide is understood very differently in different parts of Eastern and Southern Africa. The role of psychological discourses is important in this regard, as are inquisitorial regimes, but suicide often remains imbued with spiritual meanings. |
| Exploitation Route | The project research is relevant to a number of non-academic contexts, particularly in Africa. Research on suicide and maternal mortality is of potential use to health professionals, governments, epidemiologists and NGOs. Research on road deaths and road safety is of potential use to governments, international agencies and NGOs. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Healthcare,Other |
| URL | http://www.gold.ac.uk/deathinafrica |
| Description | 1. This paper examines the evidence for a recent increase in suicide rates in East and Southern Africa. In examines in detail the different discourses on suicide employed in Kenya, Uganda, Botswana and South Africa. It argues that, with the possible exception of South Africa, there are no reliable statistics through which to evaluate the claim that suicide rates are increasing. In the South African case, the 'discovery' of black suicide is linked closely to anxieties about rates of violence in the country; in countries of East Africa, suicide is more likely to be interpreted in terms of 'social breakdown' and anomie. The paper then goes on to report on the results of fieldwork in Malawi which attempted to uncover attitudes towards suicide in the present. There is very little qualitative research on suicide in this part of Africa. This paper makes an original contribution and points the way to further research. This research has been discussed with and disseminated amongst practicing mental health professionals in Eastern and Southern Africa. There is very little qualitative social research on suicide in Africa, and even less that has any historical perspective. This work sheds light on the ways in which suicide is understood socially and culturally. and how it connects to belief systems. It also examines critically the recent assertions that the regions are experiencing a dramatic rise in the incidence of suicide. These findings are understood to be important, though it is probably too soon to demonstrate that they have had a direct impact on professionals and policy-makers. 2. This AHRC-funded international conference on Death in African History was hosted by the University of Cambridge and Goldsmiths, University of London. The conference brought together scholars from a number of disciplines (history, social anthropology, archaeology, cultural studies and politics) to advance the study of death in Africa. Participants included representatives of NGOs working with communities dealing with HIV/AIDS in South Africa, as well as academics from African universities. The conference confirmed the need for an interdisciplinary approach and a grounded historical account of death practices and understanding of death in Africa. Feedback from participants was very positive indeed, and we look forward to a continued conversation with them. We are pleased to report that a selection of conference papers was published in a Special Issue of the Journal of African History, vol. 49 (2008). Dr Lee and Prof Vaughan organised this international conference which brought together academics working in the field of 'death studies' with representatives working on the 'front-line' of death and its management in African society, including the health care sector, NGOs and religious organisations. These organisations included the African Mental Health Foundation (Kenya), the Samaritans (Kenya), Muizenberg Community Church (RSA), Muslim Information Centre and Masakhane Muslim Community (RSA), Redeemed Christian Church of God (Nigeria), Red Cross Children's Hospital (RSA), Children's Institute (RSA), Children's HIV/AIDS Network and the Western Cape Networking AIDS Community of South Africa, EDUCO Africa (RSA). This engagement between academia and civil society fostered a meaningful mutual exchange of ideas on how Africans understand and cope with the dying process. Both conferences also provided a useful historical perspective on the current AIDS crisis by seeking to situate the AIDS epidemic in a much longer history of African responses to death and dying. Dr Lee and Prof Vaughan have sustained relationships with some of the colleagues invited, and these relationships have been mutually beneficial. Dr Lee, for example, has given feedback to Lali Mili, of Educo Africa, on Educo's 'Living and Dying Workshop' (a programme which supports the personal development of caregivers and sufferers of terminal illness and HIV/AIDS). Dr Lee gathered in-depth interviews of former participants of the Living and Dying workshop, which could be used to improve its provision and reach. 3. This paper examines the evidence for a recent increase in suicide rates in East and Southern Africa. In examines in detail the different discourses on suicide employed in Kenya, Uganda, Botswana and South Africa. It argues that, with the possible exception of South Africa, there are no reliable statistics through which to evaluate the claim that suicide rates are increasing. In the South African case, the 'discovery' of black suicide is linked closely to anxieties about rates of violence in the country; in countries of East Africa, suicide is more likely to be interpreted in terms of 'social breakdown' and anomie. The paper then goes on to report on the results of fieldwork in Malawi which attempted to uncover attitudes towards suicide in the present. There is very little qualitative research on suicide in this part of Africa. This paper makes an original contribution and points the way to further research. This research has been discussed with and disseminated amongst practicing mental health professionals in Eastern and Southern Africa. There is very little qualitative social research on suicide in Africa, and even less that has any historical perspective. This work sheds light on the ways in which suicide is understood socially and culturally. and how it connects to belief systems. It also examines critically the recent assertions that the regions are experiencing a dramatic rise in the incidence of suicide. These findings are understood to be important, though it is probably too soon to demonstrate that they have had a direct impact on professionals and policy-makers. 4. This AHRC-funded international conference on Death and Loss in Africa was co-hosted by the University of Cambridge, Goldsmiths, University of London and Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research (WISER), University of the Witwatersrand. It brought together academics working in the field of 'death studies' with representatives working on the 'front-line' of death and its management in African society, including the health care sector, NGOs and religious organisations. Dr Lee and Prof Vaughan organised this international conference that brought together academics working in the field of 'death studies' with representatives working on the 'front-line' of death and its management in African society, including the health care sector, NGOs and religious organisations. These organisations included the African Mental Health Foundation (Kenya), the Samaritans (Kenya), Muizenberg Community Church (RSA), Muslim Information Centre and Masakhane Muslim Community (RSA), Redeemed Christian Church of God (Nigeria), Red Cross Children's Hospital (RSA), Children's Institute (RSA), Children's HIV/AIDS Network and the Western Cape Networking AIDS Community of South Africa, EDUCO Africa (RSA). This engagement between academia and civil society fostered a meaningful mutual exchange of ideas on how Africans understand and cope with the dying process. Both conferences also provided a useful historical perspective on the current AIDS crisis by seeking to situate the AIDS epidemic in a much longer history of African responses to death and dying. Dr Lee and Prof Vaughan have sustained relationships with some of the colleagues invited, and these relationships have been mutually beneficial. Dr Lee, for example, has given feedback to Lali Mili, of Educo Africa, on Educo's 'Living and Dying Workshop' (a programme which supports the personal development of caregivers and sufferers of terminal illness and HIV/AIDS). Dr Lee gathered in-depth interviews of former participants of the Living and Dying workshop, which could be used to improve its provision and reach. |
| Sector | Education,Healthcare |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal |
| Description | Funding for dissemination of research on maternal mortality |
| Amount | £8,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Cambridge |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2012 |
| End | 06/2012 |
| Description | Collaboration with Department of Psychology, University of Malawi |
| Organisation | University of Malawi |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Research collaboration with academics and students in the Psychology Department of University of Malawi on the subject of suicide in Malawi. I trained two students to carry out fieldwork, and worked with them to write up their results. This was both useful for me, but also contributed to developing their research skills. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | Collaboration with Department of Psychology, University of Malawi |
| Organisation | University of Malawi |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Research collaboration with academics and students in the Psychology Department of University of Malawi on the subject of suicide in Malawi. I trained two students to carry out fieldwork, and worked with them to write up their results. This was both useful for me, but also contributed to developing their research skills. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | Collaboration with Dr Felix Kauye and colleagues, Zomba Mental Hospital |
| Organisation | Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust |
| Department | Zomba Mental Hospital |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Hospitals |
| PI Contribution | Extended discussions with Dr Kauye and his staff over a number of years on research into depressive illness in Malawi. Sharing of research findings. |
| Start Year | 2006 |
| Description | Collaboration with Dr Felix Kauye and colleagues, Zomba Mental Hospital |
| Organisation | Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust |
| Department | Zomba Mental Hospital |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Hospitals |
| PI Contribution | Extended discussions with Dr Kauye and his staff over a number of years on research into depressive illness in Malawi. Sharing of research findings. |
| Start Year | 2006 |
| Description | Collaboration with Dr Wapu Mulwafu, Dept of History, University of Malawi |
| Organisation | University of Malawi |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Research collaboration with Dr Mulwafu and his colleagues. Included archival research and oral historical research on death practices and beliefs relating to the afterlife in Malawi. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | Collaboration with Dr Wapu Mulwafu, Dept of History, University of Malawi |
| Organisation | University of Malawi |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Research collaboration with Dr Mulwafu and his colleagues. Included archival research and oral historical research on death practices and beliefs relating to the afterlife in Malawi. |
| Description | DELETE |
| Organisation | Oxford Brookes University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Collaboration with Michael Esbester (Oxford Brookes) and Jameson Wetmore (Arizona State University) on road safety in history |
| Start Year | 2011 |
| Description | Ongoing research collaboration Vaughan and Kalusa |
| Organisation | University of Swaziland |
| Country | Swaziland |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Research collaboration began when Dr Walima Kalusa was employed by the AHRC project as a post-doctoral research fellow. Dr Kalusa was then based at the University of Zambia. He is now based at the University of Swaziland. Vaughan and Kalusa are preparing a jointly authored book arising from research for the project. Kalusa has been invited to join a research network based at the University of Cambridge for which AHRC funding is being sought. |
| Start Year | 2007 |
| Description | Ongoing research collaboration Vaughan and Kalusa |
| Organisation | University of Swaziland |
| Country | Swaziland |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Research collaboration began when Dr Walima Kalusa was employed by the AHRC project as a post-doctoral research fellow. Dr Kalusa was then based at the University of Zambia. He is now based at the University of Swaziland. Vaughan and Kalusa are preparing a jointly authored book arising from research for the project. Kalusa has been invited to join a research network based at the University of Cambridge for which AHRC funding is being sought. |
| Start Year | 2007 |
| Description | Research collaboration with Dr Gabriel Klaeger, SOAS, and others |
| Organisation | School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Research network established on the topic roads and risk in Africa |
| Start Year | 2011 |
| Description | Research collaboration with Dr Gabriel Klaeger, SOAS, and others |
| Organisation | School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Research network established on the topic roads and risk in Africa |
| Start Year | 2011 |
| Description | Research collaboration with Dr Lauraine Vivian, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town |
| Organisation | University of Cape Town |
| Department | Faculty of Health Sciences |
| Country | South Africa |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This collaboration began when Dr Lee examined Dr Vivian's PhD thesis on mental health, psychosis and circumcision rites among amaXhosa in Cape Town.Lee and Vivian (unsuccesfully) submitted an application for a British Academy visiting fellowship to host Vivian at Goldsmiths in 2009. Vivian presented two papers at the Death and Loss in Africa conference in 2010 (WISER, Johannesburg), and one paper is included in the resultant Special Issue of African Studies (2012). Lee and Vivian plan to collaborate on a ethnographic project concerning death in the South African hospital setting, the proposal for which is currently undergoing ethical review. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | Research collaboration with Dr Lauraine Vivian, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town |
| Organisation | University of Cape Town |
| Department | Faculty of Health Sciences |
| Country | South Africa |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This collaboration began when Dr Lee examined Dr Vivian's PhD thesis on mental health, psychosis and circumcision rites among amaXhosa in Cape Town.Lee and Vivian (unsuccesfully) submitted an application for a British Academy visiting fellowship to host Vivian at Goldsmiths in 2009. Vivian presented two papers at the Death and Loss in Africa conference in 2010 (WISER, Johannesburg), and one paper is included in the resultant Special Issue of African Studies (2012). Lee and Vivian plan to collaborate on a ethnographic project concerning death in the South African hospital setting, the proposal for which is currently undergoing ethical review. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | Research collaboration with Prof Ashley Moffett, Dept of Pathology, Univ of Cambridge |
| Organisation | University of Cambridge |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Professor Moffett is undertaking genetic research into maternal mortality, and particularly eclampsia, in Uganda. We are working on the implications of this research for a historical understanding of maternal mortality in East Africa. |
| Start Year | 2010 |
| Description | Research collaboration with Prof Ashley Moffett, Dept of Pathology, Univ of Cambridge |
| Organisation | University of Cambridge |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Professor Moffett is undertaking genetic research into maternal mortality, and particularly eclampsia, in Uganda. We are working on the implications of this research for a historical understanding of maternal mortality in East Africa. |
| Start Year | 2010 |
| Description | Research collaboration with leading Kenyan psychiatrist and researcher, Professor David Ndetei |
| Organisation | African Mental Health Foundation |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | I have collaborated closely with Professor David Ndetei, a Kenyan psychiatrist and founder of both the African Mental Foundation and the Kenyan branch of Samaritans. Through him, I have also become a member of the African Suicide Research Network, which links me to other professionals in African working in this field. Prof Ndetei invited me to contribute to his textbook on African Psychiatry and to advise him on a project on the history of psychiatry in Kenya. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | Research collaboration with leading Kenyan psychiatrist and researcher, Professor David Ndetei |
| Organisation | African Mental Health Foundation |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | I have collaborated closely with Professor David Ndetei, a Kenyan psychiatrist and founder of both the African Mental Foundation and the Kenyan branch of Samaritans. Through him, I have also become a member of the African Suicide Research Network, which links me to other professionals in African working in this field. Prof Ndetei invited me to contribute to his textbook on African Psychiatry and to advise him on a project on the history of psychiatry in Kenya. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | research collaboration on road safety in history, Dr Mike Esbester, Oxford Brookes University |
| Organisation | Oxford Brookes University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Ongoing research collaboration with Dr Mike Esbester of Oxford Brookes University and Jameson Wetmore, Arizona State University, on road safety in history |
| Start Year | 2011 |
| Description | research collaboration on road safety in history, Dr Mike Esbester, Oxford Brookes University |
| Organisation | Oxford Brookes University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Ongoing research collaboration with Dr Mike Esbester of Oxford Brookes University and Jameson Wetmore, Arizona State University, on road safety in history |
| Start Year | 2011 |
| Description | research collaboration on road safety in history, Dr Mike Esbester, Oxford Brookes University |
| Organisation | University of Arizona |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Ongoing research collaboration with Dr Mike Esbester of Oxford Brookes University and Jameson Wetmore, Arizona State University, on road safety in history |
| Start Year | 2011 |
| Description | research collaboration with Bones collective, Dr Joost Fontein, University of Edinburgh |
| Organisation | University of Edinburgh |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This is an ongoing collaboration with the Bones Collective, Social Anthropology, University of Edinburgh. |
| Start Year | 2010 |
| Description | research collaboration with Bones collective, Dr Joost Fontein, University of Edinburgh |
| Organisation | University of Edinburgh |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This is an ongoing collaboration with the Bones Collective, Social Anthropology, University of Edinburgh. |
| Start Year | 2010 |
| Description | research collaboration with Dr Mark Lamont, Anthropology Dept, Goldsmiths College, University of London |
| Organisation | Goldsmiths, University of London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | ongoing research collaboration, which began when Dr Lamont was a post-doctoral fellow attached to the AHRC project in 2007-9. Dr Lamont continues to publish research that he undertook while employed as a post-doctoral fellow. In addition, Dr Lee and Dr Lamont have begun a related research thread on road accidents and accidental death. They have recently co-written an article on the history of road safety in Kenya and South Africa, which is currently under review. |
| Start Year | 2007 |
| Description | research collaboration with Dr Mark Lamont, Anthropology Dept, Goldsmiths College, University of London |
| Organisation | Goldsmiths, University of London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | ongoing research collaboration, which began when Dr Lamont was a post-doctoral fellow attached to the AHRC project in 2007-9. Dr Lamont continues to publish research that he undertook while employed as a post-doctoral fellow. In addition, Dr Lee and Dr Lamont have begun a related research thread on road accidents and accidental death. They have recently co-written an article on the history of road safety in Kenya and South Africa, which is currently under review. |
| Start Year | 2007 |
| Description | 'Made in Goldsmiths' - Public talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 'Made in Goldsmiths' event on the commoditization of death in South Africa, Rebekah Lee gave a public talk and was in conversation with broadcast journalist Henry Bonsu, Goldsmiths College, 28 February 2013 responses |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | 'The debt we cannot avoid': Researching the funeral frenzy in contemporary South Africa |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Paper presented at the Dept of Anthropology Seminar, Goldsmiths College, University of London. The paper looked at methodological and theoretical concerns regarding ongoing research on funerals in South Africa, as well as presented some preliminary findings on funeral finance and management, based on trans-generational interviews of households in Cape Town, South Africa. responses |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2006 |
| Description | Accidents have no cure: road deaths and material witnessing in East Africa |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Paper presented at Anthropology Dept Seminar, Goldsmiths College responses |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| Description | Community Screening of documentary film 'The Price of Death' in Cape Town, South Africa |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The documentary film 'The Price of Death', directed by Rebekah Lee and funded by the AHRC, was screened in Khayelitsha township, Cape Town. The film was partly shot on location in Khayelitsha. Community residents were invited to attend. A discussion panel including two funeral undertakers, a local pastor and a programme director from a locally based HIV/AIDS NGO followed the screening, after which questions were taken from the audience. responses |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Death, Christianity and African Miners: Contesting Indirect Rule on the Zambian Copperbelt |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | paper presented to History Seminar, University of Zambia, 26 August 2009 Results of research presented to academics and students in the Department of History, University of Zambia, where Dr Kalusa was then employed |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009 |
| Description | Documentary film screening - RAI International Festival of Ethnographic Film |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The documentary film 'The Price of Death', directed by Rebekah Lee was selected for the Royal Anthropological Institute's biennial International Festival of Ethnographic Film, which took place in Edinburgh, 13-16 June 2013. responses |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Huffington Post blog - Rebekah Lee |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Rebekah Lee has used her blog on the Huffington post to disseminate research related to the death in Africa project. See: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-rebekah-lee/africa-funerals-death-_b_3344902.html http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-rebekah-lee/africa-funerals-death-_b_3344902.html |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Invited speaker on funeral costs in Africa, BBC world service radio |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | One of several invited speakers on BBC world service radio programme, to discuss rising costs of funerals in Africa responses |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2007 |
| Description | Mobility, migration and the changing management of death in South Africa |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Paper presented at the Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine, University of Oxford. The paper offered preliminary findings from fieldwork conducted in 2008 in South Africa, on the intersections of mobility, migration and death in South Africa. The paper also reflected on the historiography of migration and death. responses |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009 |
| Description | New 'ways of dying': embalming and exhumation in contemporary South Africa |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This seminar paper explored two innovations in the nascent township funeral industry in South Africa-- embalming and exhumation-- as a way of exploring the intersections of death, mobility and migration. Paper presented at the Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh responses |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| Description | Price of Death, documentary film screening |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Public screening of 'Price of Death', documentary produced and directed by Rebekah Lee, on the township funeral industry in South Africa. requests for more information |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | Project Website: http://www.gold.ac.uk/deathinafrica |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Website established and maintained since the inception of the project, with links to publications and other outputs. wide response |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2006 |
| Description | Results of research on suicide in Malawi |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A presentation and discussion on the results of fieldwork carried out in Malawi on attitudes towards suicide. Presentation of results of fieldwork research on suicide in Malawi to professionals, students and volunteers at the St John of God Mission in Mzuzu, a pioneering mental health organisation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| Description | Road Safety in Kenya |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | seminar paper on road safety in Kenya, presented at LSE African Research seminar responses |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | Screening of documentary 'The Price of Death' at Stellenbosch University, South Africa |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Screening of film and discussion with director hosted by Stellenbosch University, Department of Sociology & Social Anthropology. responses |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Screening of documentary 'The Price of Death' at the University of Cape Town |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Screening of documentary film directed by Rebekah Lee and funded by the AHRC. Screening and discussion hosted by the Department of Social Anthropology, University of Cape Town. responses |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | Speed Governors : Road Safety and Infrastructural Overload in Postcolonial Kenya |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Seminar paper focusing on the place of road safety in Kenya's legislative history since Independence. responses |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | Television appearance on 'Shoot the Messenger', Vox Africa channel |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Rebekah Lee was invited to appear on the Shoot the Messenger programme, on Vox Africa (part of Skye digital television). She was in conversation with host Henry Bonsu about her documentary film, 'The Price of Death', and her research on the funeral industry in South Africa. responses |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | The 'discovery' of Suicide in East and Southern Africa |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | See Other Research Outputs for details Results of research on suicide presented and discussed with members of African Mental Health Foundation in Nairobi, Kenya, and with volunteers of Kenya's Samaritan organisation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| Description | The social afterlife of Swahili tombs on the Mrima coast, Tanzania |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Paper presented to LSE African Studies Seminar, 17 March 2009. The paper offers an ethnographic reflection on the archaeological pasts of Swahili ruins on the Tanzanian coast. responses |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009 |
| Description | Those who wait: late-life lingerings and generational succession in Kenya |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Paper presented at Kings College responses |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009 |
| Description | White Fathers, Death and the Afterlife in Central Africa |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This paper forms part of a forthcoming book. It is based on detailed archival research in Zambia and Rome and examines the impact of the White Fathers' mission on ideas about death and the afterlife in Central Africa. responses |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| Description | White Fathers, Death and the Afterlife in Central Africa |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Seminar paper which will form part of forthcoming book. Based on detailed archival research in Zambia and Rome, examines the impact of the White Fathers' mission on ideas about death and the afterlife in Central Africa. responses |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |