Continuing Bonds: Creative Dissemination
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Bradford
Department Name: Faculty of Life Sciences
Abstract
We do not speak of the dead often enough: we lack the language, the opportunity, the encouragement, and someone to listen. Even amongst professional end-of-life care givers, this can create problems and frustrations. Yet the past provides us with rich stories of how people throughout time have mourned, remembered and grieved; exposure to these examples encourages conversations around these topics, enabling a 'safe' way in to discuss difficult topics of mortality and loss. These were some of the key findings from the AHRC-funded 'Continuing Bonds: Exploring the meaning and legacy of death through past and contemporary practice' (CB) project, which has investigated the value and contribution of archaeology to end-of-life care.
This follow-on project brings the stories, narratives, themes and experiences espoused in the CB findings, as well as inspiring archaeological/ethnographic materials, to wider audiences.
Involving creative writers and the general public, four activities are proposed:
1. A series of creative writing workshops
2. Collation and dissemination of an anthology
3. Celebration reading events
4. Development of a free resource pack
Stories told in the original Continuing Bonds study, as well as archaeological/ethnographic materials, will be used to inspire participants' creative writing, as well as normalise facets of death, dying and bereavement (DDB). These materials will focus on a range of stories, narratives, themes (such as memorialisation and legacy, ethics, and treatment of the dead), experiences and objects. The workshops will provide a safe space for individuals to talk about DDB, to engage with others' stories and experiences about these and to engage with case studies about DDB from the past. Participants will be asked to produce pieces of creative writing, such as short stories, flash fiction (short fictional work which still offers character and plot development) and poetry. By engaging individuals in these topics through the medium of writing, it is likely that a wider understanding of DDB will emerge, with DDB thoughts, behaviours and practices being validated and normalised. These impacts will continue through the anthology and the celebration reading events.
The anthology will include approximately 45 pieces. These will have been developed through the creative writing workshops. This will be free to access and hosted online. Free print copies will also be made available for contributors, their friends/family and other interested parties.
The celebration events will welcome all who have attended the workshops, submitted to the anthology, and the general public. The aim is for participants to showcase their pieces. This will provide a valuable reflective opportunity for those involved and enables members of different writing communities to join together. It is hoped that this will form the basis of ongoing informal networks among participants.
The resource pack will enable workshop materials to be used by others, free of charge, enabling further impact beyond the life of the project.
The project will run for 9 months, which allows for the adequate preparation of materials, recruitment, facilitation of workshops, feedback to contributors, advertising for and holding the celebration events, correlation of resource pack and evaluation. We anticipate that participants will be attracted by the unique inspiration provided by the archaeological materials and related participant accounts, as well as the opportunity to network with other writers and to showcase and receive feedback on their work.
Overall, the Creative Dissemination proposal takes the success of the original CBs project and extends this to new audiences, using the medium of creative writing.
This follow-on project brings the stories, narratives, themes and experiences espoused in the CB findings, as well as inspiring archaeological/ethnographic materials, to wider audiences.
Involving creative writers and the general public, four activities are proposed:
1. A series of creative writing workshops
2. Collation and dissemination of an anthology
3. Celebration reading events
4. Development of a free resource pack
Stories told in the original Continuing Bonds study, as well as archaeological/ethnographic materials, will be used to inspire participants' creative writing, as well as normalise facets of death, dying and bereavement (DDB). These materials will focus on a range of stories, narratives, themes (such as memorialisation and legacy, ethics, and treatment of the dead), experiences and objects. The workshops will provide a safe space for individuals to talk about DDB, to engage with others' stories and experiences about these and to engage with case studies about DDB from the past. Participants will be asked to produce pieces of creative writing, such as short stories, flash fiction (short fictional work which still offers character and plot development) and poetry. By engaging individuals in these topics through the medium of writing, it is likely that a wider understanding of DDB will emerge, with DDB thoughts, behaviours and practices being validated and normalised. These impacts will continue through the anthology and the celebration reading events.
The anthology will include approximately 45 pieces. These will have been developed through the creative writing workshops. This will be free to access and hosted online. Free print copies will also be made available for contributors, their friends/family and other interested parties.
The celebration events will welcome all who have attended the workshops, submitted to the anthology, and the general public. The aim is for participants to showcase their pieces. This will provide a valuable reflective opportunity for those involved and enables members of different writing communities to join together. It is hoped that this will form the basis of ongoing informal networks among participants.
The resource pack will enable workshop materials to be used by others, free of charge, enabling further impact beyond the life of the project.
The project will run for 9 months, which allows for the adequate preparation of materials, recruitment, facilitation of workshops, feedback to contributors, advertising for and holding the celebration events, correlation of resource pack and evaluation. We anticipate that participants will be attracted by the unique inspiration provided by the archaeological materials and related participant accounts, as well as the opportunity to network with other writers and to showcase and receive feedback on their work.
Overall, the Creative Dissemination proposal takes the success of the original CBs project and extends this to new audiences, using the medium of creative writing.
Planned Impact
Impact is expected through the activities (creative writing workshops and celebration events), and outputs (anthology and workshop resource), as well as the preparation of conference papers for practice-based and public audiences.
The workshops will encourage participants to make connections with each other, with individuals benefiting from focused time to write, access to unique and original inspiration material, peer feedback from others in the group and the opportunity to publish and share their work. They may find their writing skills as well as their confidence in sharing their writing improves. Writing for a deadline can help motivate individuals and encourage them to dedicate 'protected time' to creating. Further, individuals will gain new learning and knowledge about DDB, including thinking and behaviours which tend not to be discussed in society, but which are natural and normal.
The anthology (including around 45 pieces) will have a print run of 500 copies, distributed free of charge to participants and their families. Copies will also be disseminated to key libraries in the cities and local bereavement support institutions (such as Bradford Bereavement Support; CRUSE Bereavement Care), University libraries, and other interested venues. The anthology will also be available free of charge online, via the University of Bradford and Continuing Bonds Project websites. We will invite comment from key voices around the topic, encouraging blogs on the anthology from influential individuals and blog sites, as well as other AHRC funded projects (e.g. Grave Goods and Remember Me), and from important bodies such as the Centre for Death Studies. Writers and poets will have a free space to showcase their work.
The celebration events will be open to all who have attended the workshops, their family and friends, interested parties and to the general public. The aim is for individuals to showcase their anthology submissions. This will provide a valuable reflective opportunity for those involved and enables members of different writing communities to join together. It is hoped that this will form the basis of ongoing informal networks among participants and with CoI JD who intends to continue working in the field of creative writing. Furthermore, the nature of the material (based on death, dying and bereavement) will promote conversations between contributors and their families and friends attending the event about these topics.
A downloadable resource pack of workshop materials and accompanying guide to delivery will be made available, free of charge, hosted by the University of Bradford. This will enable the Follow-on project to have greater impact beyond the immediate workshop participants and their families, friends and peers.
In the work we have undertaken so far, and the outcomes of that work, it has become apparent that the disciplines of psychology, particularly counselling psychology, and creative writing share many commonalities and can usefully inform each other. The Creative Dissemination project will reveal further commonalities between the two, particularly understanding of how research methods and findings can inform the content and processes of writing. This may lead to further interdisciplinary work and research.
Finally, a conference paper for a practice-based audience (our research to date suggests that Psychology would be the most appropriate field) will be produced, which outlines how the Creative Dissemination project came about, how it was implemented, gives examples of the writing work created, and showcases what the consequences and impacts of the project have been. This paper would allow practitioners to take our learning back into their own work in a tangible way. This will be accompanied by a presentation at the Bradford Literature Festival to a community audience and literary fields.
The workshops will encourage participants to make connections with each other, with individuals benefiting from focused time to write, access to unique and original inspiration material, peer feedback from others in the group and the opportunity to publish and share their work. They may find their writing skills as well as their confidence in sharing their writing improves. Writing for a deadline can help motivate individuals and encourage them to dedicate 'protected time' to creating. Further, individuals will gain new learning and knowledge about DDB, including thinking and behaviours which tend not to be discussed in society, but which are natural and normal.
The anthology (including around 45 pieces) will have a print run of 500 copies, distributed free of charge to participants and their families. Copies will also be disseminated to key libraries in the cities and local bereavement support institutions (such as Bradford Bereavement Support; CRUSE Bereavement Care), University libraries, and other interested venues. The anthology will also be available free of charge online, via the University of Bradford and Continuing Bonds Project websites. We will invite comment from key voices around the topic, encouraging blogs on the anthology from influential individuals and blog sites, as well as other AHRC funded projects (e.g. Grave Goods and Remember Me), and from important bodies such as the Centre for Death Studies. Writers and poets will have a free space to showcase their work.
The celebration events will be open to all who have attended the workshops, their family and friends, interested parties and to the general public. The aim is for individuals to showcase their anthology submissions. This will provide a valuable reflective opportunity for those involved and enables members of different writing communities to join together. It is hoped that this will form the basis of ongoing informal networks among participants and with CoI JD who intends to continue working in the field of creative writing. Furthermore, the nature of the material (based on death, dying and bereavement) will promote conversations between contributors and their families and friends attending the event about these topics.
A downloadable resource pack of workshop materials and accompanying guide to delivery will be made available, free of charge, hosted by the University of Bradford. This will enable the Follow-on project to have greater impact beyond the immediate workshop participants and their families, friends and peers.
In the work we have undertaken so far, and the outcomes of that work, it has become apparent that the disciplines of psychology, particularly counselling psychology, and creative writing share many commonalities and can usefully inform each other. The Creative Dissemination project will reveal further commonalities between the two, particularly understanding of how research methods and findings can inform the content and processes of writing. This may lead to further interdisciplinary work and research.
Finally, a conference paper for a practice-based audience (our research to date suggests that Psychology would be the most appropriate field) will be produced, which outlines how the Creative Dissemination project came about, how it was implemented, gives examples of the writing work created, and showcases what the consequences and impacts of the project have been. This paper would allow practitioners to take our learning back into their own work in a tangible way. This will be accompanied by a presentation at the Bradford Literature Festival to a community audience and literary fields.
Publications
Croucher K
(2019)
The Living and the Dead: Creative Conversations between Past and Present
| Title | Continuing Bonds Hand Print Artwork |
| Description | Hand print artwork created through the Continuing Bonds Workshops with/by workshop participants. Participants drew around their hands and wrote messages/thoughts in the hand outlines. Handprints have been a theme throughout the Continuing Bonds research as they are both deeply personal yet anonymous, as are the participant experiences that have contributed to the original research. The style of the art work was done in a way that evokes the image of archaeological cave art. This also linked our experiences of today with archaeological material. |
| Type Of Art | Artwork |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | The artwork allowed for commentary on the use of archaeology by project participants. |
| Description | Through the work of this award, an overwhelming percentage of workshop participants have reported a positive impact on their attitudes towards death, dying, bereavement and grief- with around 90% reporting inspiration from archaeological material as a means to write creatively about their own personal struggle with the selected themes. The workshop attendees were mainly non specialist members of the public, with key findings suggesting positive impact when examining the safeness of the environment (90% reported), the extent of new knowledge learned (over 90%) and the aspects that encouraged creative writing (over 90%). |
| Exploitation Route | The outcomes have suggested that amalgamation of different fields (i.e. archaeology, psychology, and creative writing) has a positive impact on discussing the themes of death, dying, bereavement and grief. Others might decide to take an interdisciplinary approach when holding workshops or other such events for attendees who may want to creatively write and talk about personal experiences with grief. The approach we used allowed participants to think differently about the themes of death, dying, bereavement and grief. Academically, archaeologists can view our research and look to how their discipline can contribute to understanding in current modern day trends - as seen through the outputs of these workshops. Materials and insights from the project are being incorporated into a web resource toolkit for counsellors (with creative writing a suggested task/component). Teaching materials are freely available, enabling others to replicate the workshops beyond the project. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Healthcare,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| URL | http://www.continuingbonds.live |
| Description | As part of the Continuing Bonds: Creative Dissemination Project, a series of workshops were held at Bradford, Manchester and Sheffield. The workshops comprised of three sessions with the themes of 'Inspiration' and 'deepening connections' comprising of the first and second workshops before a final workshop focusing on finalizing creative writing pieces. The members of the workshop were mainly non-specialist members of the public, hoping to use creative writing and archaeological interaction as a means to further understand death, dying, bereavement and grief. Many had little or no experience of either the topic, or of creative writing, prior to the events. Feedback forms were distributed in questionnaire formats to gather evaluation data. Of the feedback forms completed (c. 53) 92% of participants stated obtaining new knowledge about death, dying, bereavement and grief through the workshop's archaeological approach, 94% reported feeling the workshop was a safe environment to discuss death related topics and 97% found creative writing helped further understand feeling of grief and bereavement. 90% felt that archaeological object handling helped in learning more about death in other cultures and in past populations- thus inspiring writing material. 91% of attendees found that archaeology was a useful way of initiating discussion on the themes of the workshop, with most commenting that modern day statement, archaeological material and information about past cultures helped in normalizing their own personal experiences with death, dying and bereavement. Comments stated the workshop was 'academically rich', 'well-paced', 'inspirational' and 'positively challenging', with numerous attendees expressing thanks for putting on the workshop sessions. A project output was the anthology entitled 'The Living and the Dead: Creative Conversations between Past and Present' which was edited by the project team, and included poetry and prose from 42 project participants, most of whom had not published previously. The anthology was launched at a celebration event, help the three cities as to widely include all participating members. Participants read their pieces aloud if they wished. The anthology and workshop sessions helped attendees normalize talking about death, particularly whilst discussing their own personal experiences concerning death and bereavement. An open discussion about death through archaeology encourages a non-stigmatized approach when discussing modern day equivalents. The celebration events also prompted positive feedback: 85% of contributing writers and poets felt that their engagement with the project allowed them to speak more freely about death dying and the bereavement; 64% of contributors also felt that the project allowed for normalization of death, dying, bereavement and grief in their everyday lives. Comments include positive remarks on the inclusive nature of the project, the creativity and empathy generated as well as further interest in any future workshops. Mayors of all the participating cities were invited to the events and were sent a copy of the written anthology - they responded favourably, commenting on how the project strengthened the bonds between cities and universities. The creative aspect of the workshops went on to inspire more workshops to use archaeological material as a means to prompt creative writing from participants, aided by the teaching resources which are freely available from the project website. Dr Isabel Black of the University of Manchester will run her own workshop later on this year inspired by the project- 'Making Magic Objects: Experimental Archaeology Meets Creative Writing' (March 2020). This inspiration one again draws on the power of connecting people to the past as a means to discuss their own experiences in the present. One of the poems created from the Continuing Bonds Workshops/anthology was also selected to facilitate a training session for bereavement volunteers (significantly, this was his first piece of written poetry), once again showing how the workshops impacted and assisted those in the realms of bereavement, grief, death and dying. Another participant in the workshops went on to win a prize in a flash fiction competition, she submitted a piece of work inspired by the workshops entitled 'An Excerpt from the Dictionary of Antiquity'. A further participant gained the confidence to contribute and present a reading at the funeral of a friend. The continuing bonds website also received over 800 visitors in 2019, with over 1,600 views. Public interest has been generated quite significantly from the workshop events. Material produced during the Creative dissemination workshops were used as part of developing a CPD toolkit in collaboration with bereavement professionals (Trinity College Dublin, Manchester Metropolitan University and Cruse bereavement care). The kit will be free to download soon for professionals to use with their clients to open up conversations about death and dying. Professional workshops highlight the release of the tool kit have also been held, the material produced from creative dissemination has been met with positive feedback. Individual testimonials have been collected from project participants, which have directly informed a case study for REF 2020. The testimonials evidence profound personal and professional positive change as a result of participating in the project. Continuing Bonds: Creative Dissemination was one of the projects contributing to the Queens Anniversary Prize 2021, awarded to the School of Archaeological and Forensic Sciences for the societal impact of heritage and archaeology Project participants (led be Abbi Flint) have formed an archaeology and poetry network meeting to discuss the intersection of poetry and archaeology and develop new creative approaches that draw on the archaeology, heritage and poetry. Creative writing was also used by ambassadors in the Continuing Bonds: Dying to Talk project as a task and resource in the project 'Festivals of the Dead' 2021-22 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Healthcare,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal |
| Description | Continuing Bonds: Creative Dissemination |
| Amount | £42,499 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | AH/S005196/1 |
| Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2019 |
| End | 09/2019 |
| Description | Continuing Bonds: Dying to Talk - Young people creating Compassionate Communities |
| Amount | £78,410 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | AH/V008609/1 |
| Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2021 |
| End | 12/2021 |
| Description | Continuing Bonds: Toolkit for counselling professionals; Research Development Fund |
| Amount | £15,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Bradford |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2019 |
| End | 04/2020 |
| Description | Grave Goods project |
| Organisation | University of Manchester |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Collaboration with the AHRC Grave Goods project - two joint conference papers delivered. Planning for future research. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Collaboration with the AHRC Grave Goods project - two joint conference papers delivered. Planning for future research. |
| Impact | Conference papers at: Death, Dying and Bereavement in the 21st Century Conference; Theoretical Archaeology Group Conference; Contribution from existing project at the Grave Goods conference 'Objects and the Dead', British Museum 2019. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Grave Goods project |
| Organisation | University of Reading |
| Department | Institute for Environmental Analytics |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Collaboration with the AHRC Grave Goods project - two joint conference papers delivered. Planning for future research. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Collaboration with the AHRC Grave Goods project - two joint conference papers delivered. Planning for future research. |
| Impact | Conference papers at: Death, Dying and Bereavement in the 21st Century Conference; Theoretical Archaeology Group Conference; Contribution from existing project at the Grave Goods conference 'Objects and the Dead', British Museum 2019. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Aftering podcast interview - Can archaeology teach us about grief? |
| 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 | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Jennie Dayes discussed the work of the Continuing Bonds project on a podcast channel called 'Aftering' with Valerie Vetter. Jennie discussed hoe the archaeological materials used in the Continuing bonds project had helped other in talking about death, dying and bereavement- drawing attention to the importance and relevance of the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://soundcloud.com/aftering_podcasts/aftering-can-archeology-teach-us-about-grief |
| Description | Ancient Death Cafe |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Discussed the Contining Bonds and Creative Dissemination projects at an online 'Ancient Death Cafe' which drew on archaeological materials to prompt discussion and highlighted the project results |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Ancient death café |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | In June 2022 Dr Karina Croucher gave a presentation as part of an Ancient Death Café session ran by Dr Melanie Giles of the University of Manchester. The session was received positively by fellow academics and the general public. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Archaeology & Contemporary Death: Continuing Bonds and Dying to Talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Dr Karina Croucher, Associate Professor at the University of Bradford, presented in the Department of History and Archaeology Research Seminar Series on 18 November 2021, exploring archaeology's relationship with contemporary practices and attitudes towards death. The talk was livestreamed with a positive reaction from the audience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGrlk4KNiAQ&list=PLzhwRTo-EiOtjgd5iTyJWGUmzQZZp0tEj&index=3 |
| Description | Archaeology and Poetry Network |
| 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 | Online workshop and network focused on archaeology and poetry, run by Abbi Flint who was a participant in the Continuing Bonds: Creative Dissemination project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Arnos Vale Cemetery activity |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | After seeing the Dying 2 Talk project presentation at the Death and Culture Network conference, staff at Arnos Vale Cemetery held similar arts and crafts activities - including the coffin colouring activity. The staff reported that the activity allowed for participants to talk more easily about death and remembrance. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Bradford Bereavement Network Meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | In December 2022 Dr Karina Croucher chaired the Bradford Bereavement Network Meeting online, it is ran in collaboration with Child Bereavement UK. This was a great opportunity to discuss collaboration and good practice in the district. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Bradford Bereavement Network Meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | In October 2022 Dr Karina Croucher chaired the Bradford Bereavement Network Meeting online, it is ran in collaboration with Child Bereavement UK. This was a great opportunity to discuss collaboration and good practice in the district. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Bradford Fringe Festival Death Cafe |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | In September 2019 as part of the Bradford Fringe Festival a series of 3 Death Cafe sessions were held at local venues (Speakers Corner Bradford, and a local cafe, Bread + Roses, Bradford). The theme of the death cafes was humour, encouraging attendees to talk about the role of comedy and humour in helping through times of grief. The session was met with positive feedback. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://allevents.in/bradford/death-cafe/200017653949840?ref=past-event-page |
| Description | Conference Workshop entitled 'Using Archaeology to Develop Empathy Around Death, Dying, Bereavement and Grief' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Dr Karina Croucher and Dr Jennie Dayes ran a workshop at the British Psychological Society: Division of Counselling Psychology Annual Conference 2019 in Cardiff.The workshop was held as part of the conferences schedule and was entitled 'Using Archaeology to Develop Empathy Around Death, Dying, Bereavement and Grief'. Attendees engaged with 4-5 archaeological/ethnographic case studies designed to provoke thinking about diverse aspects of death, dying, bereavement and grief. Individuals experienced a distinctive multi-disciplinary approach and took away both personal and professional growth.The workshop was met with great enthusiasm. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.bps.org.uk/events/division-counselling-psychology-annual-conference-2019/programme |
| Description | Continuing Bonds - Past and Present: Using funerary archaeology to talk about death and dying today, & implications for archaeological interpretations of the past |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Dr Karina Croucher gave a talk entitled 'Continuing Bonds - Past and Present: Using funerary archaeology to talk about death and dying today, and implications for archaeological interpretations of the past' as part of the University of Glasgow Archaeology Winter Seminars 2022-23. The seminar was free to attend and had around 40 people in attendance. Most of the audience were studying or working in archaeology, and responded positively to the project, asking engaging questions and asking for more information. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/humanities/events/archaeologyevents/seminars/ |
| Description | Continuing Bonds: Creative Dissemination Celebration Event (Bradford) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Workshop participants, their friend, families, and members of the public took part in a celebration event where the project anthology, entitled 'The Living and the Dead: Creative Conversations Between Past and Present' was launched. Participants were invited to read their contributions aloud if they desired. The event was held at the University of Bradford and encouraged an active conversation about themes relating to death, dying and bereavement. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://continuingbonds.live/creative-dissemination/ |
| Description | Continuing Bonds: Creative Dissemination Celebration Event (Manchester) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Workshop participants, their friend, families, and members of the public took part in a celebration event where the project anthology, entitled 'The Living and the Dead: Creative Conversations Between Past and Present' was launched. Participants were invited to read their contributions aloud if they desired. The event was held at the Anthony Burgess Centre, Manchester, and encouraged an active conversation about themes relating to death, dying and bereavement. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://continuingbonds.live/creative-dissemination/ |
| Description | Continuing Bonds: Creative Dissemination Celebration Event (Sheffield) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Workshop participants, their friend, families, and members of the public took part in a celebration event where the project anthology, entitled 'The Living and the Dead: Creative Conversations Between Past and Present' was launched. Participants were invited to read their contributions aloud if they desired. The event was held at Sheffield City Library and encouraged an active conversation about themes relating to death, dying and bereavement. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://continuingbonds.live/creative-dissemination/ |
| Description | Continuing Bonds: Creative Writing Workshop 1 (Bradford) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | This was the one of three workshops held at the University of Bradford, the themes of the workshop related to death, dying, bereavement and grief. Participants were provided with a space to create pieces (i.e. poetry, short stories etc.) relating to the specific themes. Archaeological material relating to death was available to view and handle, along with personal reflections from the original Continuing Bonds project; the workshop resources were designed to inspire, and demonstrated the var |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://continuingbonds.live/teaching-materials/ |
| Description | Continuing Bonds: Creative Writing Workshop 1 (Manchester) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This was the one of three workshops held at the Kro Bar, Manchester. The themes of the workshop related to death, dying, bereavement and grief. Participants were provided with a space to create pieces (i.e. poetry, short stories etc.) relating to the specific themes. Archaeological material relating to death was available to view and handle, along with personal reflections from the original Continuing Bonds project; the workshop resources were designed to inspire, and demonstrated the variety of reactions to death and bereavement. 'Inspiration' was the theme for Workshop 1, with participants getting a feel for the archaeological material and how best to start in the creative writing process. The workshop was open to all adults, regardless of writing experience and knowledge of archaeology, with the aim of contributing a piece to the final project anthology entitled 'The Living and the Dead: Creative Conversations Between Past and Present'. Although not a therapy alternative, the participants were able to speak about their personal experiences if desired. Participants gave overwhelmingly positive feedback and reflected that archaeological material regarding death in the past allowed for further discussion of grief today, normalising talk about death and bereavement. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://continuingbonds.live/teaching-materials/ |
| Description | Continuing Bonds: Creative Writing Workshop 1 (Sheffield) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This was the one of three workshops held at Sheffield College. The themes of the workshop related to death, dying, bereavement and grief. Participants were provided with a space to create pieces (i.e. poetry, short stories etc.) relating to the specific themes. Archaeological material relating to death was available to view and handle, along with personal reflections from the original Continuing Bonds project; the workshop resources were designed to inspire, and demonstrated the variety of reactions to death and bereavement. 'Inspiration' was the theme for Workshop 1, with participants getting a feel for the archaeological material and how best to start in the creative writing process. The workshop was open to all adults, regardless of writing experience and knowledge of archaeology, with the aim of contributing a piece to the final project anthology entitled 'The Living and the Dead: Creative Conversations Between Past and Present'. Although not a therapy alternative, the participants were able to speak about their personal experiences if desired. Participants gave overwhelmingly positive feedback and reflected that archaeological material regarding death in the past allowed for further discussion of grief today, normalising talk about death and bereavement. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://continuingbonds.live/teaching-materials/ |
| Description | Continuing Bonds: Creative Writing Workshop 2 (Bradford) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The second of three creative writing workshops at the the University of Bradford was held in the Horton Building on campus. With the first workshop theme being 'Inspiration', the theme of the second session was 'deepening connection'. Participants were asked to further engage with the provided archaeological material related to the themes of death, dying and bereavement, with the hope of developing their creative writing pieces further. As with the first workshop, participants were able to discuss difficult personal subjects surrounding death if they desired. The space at these workshops was confidential and safe. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://continuingbonds.live/teaching-materials/ |
| Description | Continuing Bonds: Creative Writing Workshop 2 (Manchester) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The second of the creative writing workshops held at Manchester was also held at Kro Bar. The theme of the second workshop was 'deepening connection'. Participants worked on developing their written pieces (for anthology) by further engaging with archaeological material, and by also openly discussing personal experiences relating to death, dying and bereavement if they so wished. Although not a therapy alternative, the workshop provided a safe space if anyone wished to talk about their experiences. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://continuingbonds.live/teaching-materials/ |
| Description | Continuing Bonds: Creative Writing Workshop 2 (Sheffield) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The second of the creative writing workshops continued to allow participants to work of their creative writing pieces. The theme of this session was 'deepening connection', and the archaeological material on hand allowed for participants to pull further inspiration for their written pieces. Participants developed their written work further and could openly discuss themes relating to death if they so wished. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://continuingbonds.live/teaching-materials/ |
| Description | Continuing Bonds: Creative Writing Workshop 3 (Bradford) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The final of three workshops was held at the University of Bradford. The purpose of the final session was that participants could finalize their pieces of creative writing for the anthology (The Living and the Dead: Creative Conversations Between Past and Present'. Participants enjoyed all three sessions and understood the importance of archaeological material as a means to comment on death in society today. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://continuingbonds.live/teaching-materials/ |
| Description | Continuing Bonds: Creative Writing Workshop 3 (Manchester) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The final workshop of the three held at Manchester Kho Bar focused on participants finalizing their written pieces for the collective anthology entitled 'The Living and the Dead: Creative Conversations Between Past and Present'. Participants discussed the themes of death, dying, bereavement and grief in their work. The writers enjoyed all three sessions and were impacted by the use of archaeological material as a means to comment on death today. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://continuingbonds.live/teaching-materials/ |
| Description | Continuing Bonds: Creative Writing Workshop 3 (Sheffield) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The final of the three creative writing workshops allowed for participants to finalize and edit their written pieces for the anthology. Writers enjoyed the series of sessions and felt achievement upon completion of their projects, as well learning the importance of death in the past as a way to comment of the present. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://continuingbonds.live/teaching-materials/ |
| Description | Death Cafe (University of Bradford) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Death cafe was held at The University of Bradford as a means to allow for meaningful conversations about death and dying. It was a group discussion with no particular agenda, this allowed for an open, non limiting discussion in death related topic. Participants enjoyed the experience and increased their awareness regarding other peoples opinions/ experiences with the topic. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://deathcafe.com |
| Description | Death Cafe as part of Dying Matters week (May 2019) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | As part of Dying Matters week a death cafe was held to encourage non morbid discussions about death and dying. Participants in the cafe reported positive feedback. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Death Café |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | In August 2022 Dr Karina Croucher collaborated with Bread and Roses Café in Bradford and co-hosted a death café. The café incorporated activities from the Continuing Bonds and Dying 2 Talk projects - this was positively received by attendees. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=751851572918397&set=pb.100042806839716.-2207520000.&type=3 |
| Description | Death Café |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | In February 2023 Dr Karina Croucher collaborated with City Library in Bradford and co-hosted a death café. The café incorporated activities from the Continuing Bonds and Dying 2 Talk projects - this was positively received by attendees. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Death Café |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | In October 2022 Dr Karina Croucher collaborated with Bread and Roses Café in Bradford and co-hosted a death café. The café incorporated activities from the Continuing Bonds and Dying 2 Talk projects - this was positively received by attendees. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=803468517756702&set=pb.100042806839716.-2207520000.&type=3 |
| Description | Death Café |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | In May 2022 Dr Karina Croucher collaborated with Bread and Roses Café in Bradford and co-hosted a death café. The café incorporated activities from the Continuing Bonds and Dying 2 Talk projects - this was positively received by attendees. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=683421196428102&set=pb.100042806839716.-2207520000.&type=3 |
| Description | Death Café |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | In September 2022 Dr Karina Croucher collaborated with Bread and Roses Café in Bradford and co-hosted a death café. The café incorporated activities from the Continuing Bonds and Dying 2 Talk projects - this was positively received by attendees. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=769787637791457&set=pb.100042806839716.-2207520000.&type=3 |
| Description | Death Café |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | In June 2022 Dr Karina Croucher collaborated with Bread and Roses Café in Bradford and co-hosted a death café. The café incorporated activities from the Continuing Bonds and Dying 2 Talk projects - this was positively received by attendees. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=708703297233225&set=pb.100042806839716.-2207520000.&type=3 |
| Description | Death Café |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | In January 2023 Dr Karina Croucher collaborated with City Library in Bradford and co-hosted a death café. The café incorporated activities from the Continuing Bonds and Dying 2 Talk projects - this was positively received by attendees. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Death Café |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | In November 2022 Dr Karina Croucher collaborated with Bread and Roses Café in Bradford and co-hosted a death café. The café incorporated activities from the Continuing Bonds and Dying 2 Talk projects - this was positively received by attendees. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=840993017337585&set=pb.100042806839716.-2207520000.&type=3 |
| Description | Death Café |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | In July 2022 Dr Karina Croucher collaborated with Bread and Roses Café in Bradford and co-hosted a death café. The café incorporated activities from the Continuing Bonds and Dying 2 Talk projects - this was positively received by attendees. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=730779815025573&set=pb.100042806839716.-2207520000.&type=3 |
| Description | Death and Culture Network Conference Presentation (Archaeology and Compassion) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | In September 2022 the Dying 2 Talk team presented a paper on the role of archaeology as a means of establishing compassion in schools - this was in response to the festival of the dead activities the project held in schools. The audience responded positively to the talk, with many asking for further information on the activities we presented. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Death and Culture Network Conference Presentation (Continuing Bonds) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Members of the Continuing Bonds and Dying 2 Talk projects presented on the projects to colleagues at the Death and Culture Network in York. They audience responded positively to the project, asking questions and further information on the activities and the project itself. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.york.ac.uk/sociology/research/death-and-culture/ |
| Description | Department of Psychology Research Seminar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | In March 2022 Dr Karina Croucher and Dr Eleanor Bryant presented on the Continuing Bonds project and the Dying to Talk project at the University of Bradford. The seminar was a research seminar within the Department of Psychology. Colleagues responded positively to the research presented. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Discussant - Grave Goods Conference, British Museum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Dr Karina Croucher was the invited discussant at the Grave Goods Conference, Objects and the Dead, held at the British Museum. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://blogs.reading.ac.uk/grave-goods/ |
| Description | Dying 2 Talk arts and crafts at Undercliffe Cemetery |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Aoife Sutton-Butler led a session at Undercliffe Cemetery in Bradford which allowed young people to take part in arts and crafts activities from the Dying 2 Talk project. Young people came to the free session and tried the archaeological and historical inspired crafts which included sarcophagus drawing, coffin painting, grave goods molding, Dying 2 Talk project colouring book colouring, cemetery booklet activities etc. Young people reacted positively, they reported enjoying the activities and showing an interest in archaeology as a way to talk about death and dying. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Dying 2 Talk arts and crafts at Undercliffe Cemetery |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Aoife Sutton-Butler held a Dying 2 Talk arts and crafts session with young people at Undercliffe Cemetery. The free event was held as part of the Halloween tour activities - young people responded positively to the activities and were engaged in the archaeological and historical aspects. Young people enjoyed the activities which included sarcophagus drawing, coffin painting, Dying 2 Talk colouring book colouring, cemetery book activities, grave goods molding etc. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Dying 2 Talk arts and crafts at Undercliffe Cemetery |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Undercliffe Cemetery volunteers held a Dying 2 Talk arts and crafts session with young people at Bradford Industrial Museum as part of an open day The event was free to attend - young people responded positively to the activities and were engaged in the archaeological and historical aspects. Young people enjoyed the activities which included sarcophagus drawing, coffin painting, Dying 2 Talk colouring book colouring, cemetery book activities, grave goods molding etc. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Dying 2 Talk: A Death Conference on a Compassionate Community |
| 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 Dying 2 Talk project held a free online conference in March 2022 - the conference will explored how we can implement and encourage a compassionate community within institutions, something more important than ever in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The conference which incorporated different aspects in the field of death and dying and had a range of speakers - including funeral directors, cemetery volunteers, academics etc. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dying-2-talk-a-death-conference-on-a-compassionate-community-tickets-... |
| Description | Dying to Talk? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | As part of the Being Human Festival, Dr Eleanor Bryant and Dr Karina Croucher led a sessions on the Dying to Talk project. According to the Being Human website, 'Being Human is the UK's national festival of the humanities. A celebration of humanities research through public engagement, it is led by the School of Advanced Study(Opens in new window) at the University of London, the UK's national centre for the pursuit, support and promotion of research in the humanities. The festival works in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council(Opens in new window) and the British Academy(Opens in new window) to support humanities public engagement across the UK.' The session ran for Dying to Talk was held as an interactive workshop, where participants were given the chance to investigate the past using archaeological artefacts from different time periods, discover how death and funerals are treated across the world, and discuss how death is represented today such as the media treatment of celebrity deaths and the role of social media in remembrance. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.beinghumanfestival.org/events/dying-talk |
| Description | Dying to Talk? Bradford event explore taboo topic |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | In November 2022 Dr Karina Croucher and Dr Eleanor Bryant were both invited to partake in a radio interview discussing the Dying to Talk and Continuing Bonds project, as well as to promote the Being Human Festival session that they were both running. The interview was broadcast on BCB Bradford radio - resulting in attendees for the Being Human Festival session. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Grave Goods - a poem |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A poem inspired by the projects 'Continuing Bonds' and 'Grave Goods', which crosses the domains of mortuary material culture, past and present, by imagining which objects, substances and phenomenon might define the author in death. It was selected as the editor's choice for podcasting as well as publication on the interdisciplinary creative science journal (online) called 'Consilience' and was illustrated by long-term collaborator Rose Ferraby. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.consilience-journal.com/si/archaeology |
| Description | Inter-disciplinary Learning Forum: How can archaeology help us talk about death now? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Dr Karina Croucher, Associate Professor of Archaeology at the University of Bradford will be talking to us about her project 'Continuing Bonds: exploring the meaning and legacy of death through past and contemporary practice'. Dr Croucher will introduced her research and provided some case studies in this interactive session. The sessions was ran as part of CPD at St Michael's hospice. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | LOROS Nourishing the Spirit Conference Workshop 'Diversity in spirit worlds: using archaeology to reflect and explore meaning and values' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | In November 2019 Dr Karina Croucher held a workshop entitled 'Diversity in spirit worlds: using archaeology to reflect and explore meaning and values'. The workshop was part of the LOROS Nourishing the Spirit Conference in Leicester. The conference was suitable for anyone interested in spiritual wellbeing and end of life care and bereavement, this workshop brought a unique archaeological perspective to participants. The workshop was met with positive feedback. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://allevents.in/leicester/nourishing-the-spirit-a-conference-on-spiritual-wellbeing/20001808577... |
| Description | Lets Talk's University of Bradford Podcast |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Dr Karina Croucher and Dr Eleanor Bryant went on the University of Bradford podcast entitled Let's Talk. In the episode, Dr Bryant and Dr Croucher talked about the Continuing Bonds and Dying 2 Talk projects - allowing a wider audience to learn more about the projects. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://open.spotify.com/episode/2RY4ZCgXBy83eQE1Nngjkc?si=9bNjCWP2QKu5fTCs8s0zsg&nd=1 |
| Description | Marks and Traces: creative engagement workshop |
| 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 | A creative poetry and art workshop (allied to the Stories of Discovery project) in which members of the public were encouraged to create poetic and artistic responses to landscapes and the traces of past inhabitation: ancient and recent. Several members of the workshop have gone on to publish or use their initial responses to develop formal artworks and outputs. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Meet Dying to Talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | As part of the international festival on death and dying, Lifting the Lid, Dr Karina Croucher ran a session on the Dying to Talk project. Dr Croucher showcased the resources of the Dying to Talk project and discussed the project at length with audiences. The audiences responded positively to the project and outputs. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://hopin.com/events/liftingthelid/registration |
| Description | Paper entitled 'Using funerary archaeology to support wellbeing and build resilience: Continuing Bonds; Dying to Talk and BReaTHe (Building Resilience Through Heritage)' delivered in the Theoretical Archaeology Group Conference Session (Dec 2019), Heritage and Wellbeing session |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | In this session, projects were discussed that seek to use archaeology and heritage to promote wellbeing. The audience were educated on the use of archaeology as a prompt to talking about death and bereavement, topics which can been difficult to broach and are subject to many societal 'taboos'. It is widely recognised (by the NHS and World Health Organisation, among others) that normalising talk about dying can aid those at the end of life and their families, encouraging discussions about intentions and advance planning. Funerary archaeology can be a safe way in to discussing death, intrigued by practices which are different from own, conversations are sparked which quickly lead to sharing of experiences, fears and wishes. The talk helped helped encourage normalisation of talking about the dead through engaging with archaeological material. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/news-events/conferences/tag-2019/tagucl-ioa-conference-timetable?g... |
| Description | Presentation entitled 'Exploring women's experiences of death, dying, bereavement and grief through archaeology and creative writing', New Configurations of Contemporary Womens Writing, University of Hull |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | As part of the CFP: New Configurations of Contemporary Women's Writing (9 September 2019) Conference at the University of Hull, Dr Karina Croucher, Dr Jennifer Dayes and Dr Melanie Giles prepared a presentation as part of the Continuing Bonds Project (presented by Dr Jennifer Dayes). The presentation showcased two pieces of creative writing written by women in the Continuing Bonds: Creative Dissemination workshops. Audiences were asked to consider what these pieces tell us about the current landscape of death, dying, bereavement and grief and the experiences of women within this. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://blogs.bbk.ac.uk/artsresearch/2019/04/01/cfp-new-configurations-of-contemporary-womens-writing... |
| Description | Public Outreach Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | In October 2022 Dr Lindsey Buster ran a public outreach workshop at Canterbury Christ Church University materials from the Continuing Bonds/ Dying to Talk projects. The material was positively received and the event was a great networking opportunity with other death researchers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Radio Interview |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Interview with Bradford Community Broadcasting (BCB) on the Continuing Bonds Project (Dr Karina Croucher). The interview was broadcast to the general public with the intention of encouraging a discussion on death and archaeology. Audiences reported positive feedback. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://bcbradio.co.uk |
| Description | Radio Interview with Dr Karina Croucher and Dr Jennie Dayes. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The interview was broadcast on Radio Royal- a voluntary hospital broadcasting service serving the Bradford Royal Infirmary. Dr Karina Croucher and Dr Jennie Dayes were interviewed on The Truelove Show about the Continuing Bonds Project. The intention of the interview was to put out information about the project to the general public with the aim of encouraging thoughts and discussions about death and archaeology. Audiences reacted positively to the interview. Comments from listeners included "The poems & music really informed the discussion.","It was lovely to hear two speakers passionate about their subject.","I'd never heard about this project, it was fascinating.","Who'd have thought that archaeology would have so much to say about death & dying." and "It raised a lot of questions, & left me wanting to know more." These comments highlight the impact the project had on the general public, who showed a real interest in how archaeology can contribute to discussion about death today. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.mixcloud.com/radioroyalbradford/the-truelove-show-the-continuing-bonds-project-dr-karina... |
| Description | Rhyme and Research - a creative workshop (part of the Council for British Archaeology's Festival of Archaeology 2021) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A creative workshop inspired by the Continuing Bonds model, to inspire creative engagement between archaeology and poetry |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Specimens Podcast |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | In October 2022, Aoife Sutton-Butler was a guest of the Specimens Podcast talking about research in death and dying. The Dying 2 Talk project was discussed and brought to the audiences attention. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/aoife-sutton-archaeology-researcher/id1534934940?i=10005844651... |
| Description | Stories of Discovery |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 10 professional practitioners (writers/poets and and a collage artist) worked with the charitable organisation The Peak District National Park and undergraduates and staff at the Universities of Sheffield and Manchester, using the inspiration of the 'creative conversations' of Continuing Bonds (and the Grave Goods project) to produce novel creative materials based on the prehistoric heritage of the Peak Park. Workshop group meetings fueled research questions that fed creative writing; this led to a final small print-run publication called 'Vestiges', with future impact and dissemination activity planned for 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://sites.manchester.ac.uk/salc-making-a-difference/2021/08/18/stories-of-discovery-collaborativ... |
| Description | Talk on death etiquette associated with Continuing Bonds (Dec 2020) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Dr Jennie Dayes gave a talk on the topic of 'death etiquette' associated with the material from the Continuing Bonds project at Manchester Metropolitan University. The talk was given to both students and colleagues, and helped initiate conversations around the topic of death and dying in an accessible manner. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | The Essay - Unearthing Britannia's Tribes: The Parisi |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | As a commissioned script and recording, this programme enabled me to distill stories from 'A forged glamour' (deepened through further research) into a 14 minute public broadcast, touching on themes of identity (particularly gender and age), grief and loss, and how things mediate death. It also drew together research from 'Grave Goods' and 'Continuing Bonds: Creative Dissemination' to argue that the past can help us explore complex feelings around grief, loss and memory. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0013jnz |
| Description | The living and the dead: creative conversations between the past and the present |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | This session discussed the use of funerary archaeology to inspire creative writing. Karina and Aoife discussed death and dying and how engaging with historical and archaeological objects that portray death can help us talk about difficult subjects. Participants also had the option to have a go at their own creative writing (no experience necessary) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://pintofscience.co.uk/event/society-centre-stage |
| Description | Understanding the Value of Heritage: A Young People's Showcase |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | In October 2022, Dr Jane Booth and one of the project's young ambassadors went to an Arts Connect event in Birmingham entitled Understanding the Value of Heritage: A Young People's Showcase. Dr Booth spoke about the project and showcased some of the resources created from the project with young people. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://artsconnect.co.uk/understanding-the-value-of-heritage-a-young-peoples-showcase/ |
| Description | University of Wolverhampton death cafe |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Dr Jane Booth has been holding death cafes at the University of Wolverhampton in association with the Dying 2 Talk project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://deathcafe.com/ |
| Description | Video recording for students |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Karina Croucher gave a talk on the Continuing Bonds project at University of Manchester, Faculty of Biology Medicine and Health, School of Nursing. The module was Midwifery and Social Work: Promoting effective practice in supportive and palliative care, Level 7 (MSc) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |