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The DeathTech Research Team is a group of anthropologists, social scientists and human-computer interaction specialists based at the University of Melbourne and the University of Oxford. The team have been studying questions at the intersection of death, technology, and society for more than a decade.

Research Projects

The DeathTech Research team has a new ARC Discovery research project:

• Do-It-Yourself Commemoration of the Dead is a project examining the shift to new DIY deathcare practices (such as ‘direct’ cremation without ceremony, creative treatment of ashes, and alternative body disposal arrangements). This grounded interdisciplinary study will produce critical insights on how diverse groups are navigating choices at the end of life as well as the impacts of these DIY practices on the death care industry in Australia.

The DeathTech Research Team has completed three other major projects to date:

• Digital Commemoration studied how people commemorate the dead online, and the socio-cultural implications of these practices.
• Disposal of the Dead: Beyond Burial and Cremation investigated emerging alternatives to and elaborations upon traditional methods of body disposal.
• The Future Cemetery investigated the potential for new technologies to enhance the public’s experience of the cemetery.

Additionally, the team completed a rapid-response research project – Remote, Restricted and Redesigned: Memorialisation practices and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Learn about our projects

^{This video was produced for Arts Discovery and funded by the Faculty of Arts.}