Re-Imagining Death: Conversations About Dying, Loss & Grief
Re-imagining Death: Conversations about Dying, Loss, and Grief is community wide conversation funded by a grant from the National Endowment of the Humanities, which was awarded to Ashby Kinch. The wider net of these conversations is led by “professors in a range of disciplines and includes short lectures on topics designed to generate discussion, including death rituals and beliefs around the world (African, Hindu, Irish, Middle Eastern); death experiences from past time periods, shifting attitudes about death and dying in cultural practices like funerals, cremation, and end-of-life experiences, and new movements to de-stigmatize discussions of death.”
To investigate a useful reading list on this subject, explore Ashby Kinch's page on Shepherd.
Community Collaborators
The Missoula Public Library is pleased to partner with the University of Montana Humanities Institute on a series of informal talks, lectures, film screenings, and book club events designed to engage our community in a discussion about death, dying, and loss. Screenings are held the second Friday of each month in the library’s fourth floor Cooper Room. Events each month feature UM professors in the humanities who share their expertise with the wider community. Professors in a range of disciplines present short lectures on topics designed to generate discussion, including death rituals and beliefs around the world (African, Hindu, Irish, Middle Eastern); death experiences from past time periods, shifting attitudes about death and dying in cultural practices like funerals, cremation, and end-of-life experiences, and new movements to de-stigmatize discussions of death.
In 2022, the Roxy partnered with the Humanities Institute, the Institute of Health and Humanities, and Ashby Kinch to organize a free 6-part film series that included a conversation led by an academic at the University of Montana with each screening.
The Humanities Institute and Institute of Health and Humanities at the University of Montana collaborated with Ashby Kinch and local community organizations to develop many of these events.
Past Events
Community Lecture: Rising Voices: Exploring Poetry & The Written Word as Strength Amidst Grief
May 19, 2023
Featuring Sterling Holywhitemountain (Jones Lecturer at Stanford University) and Robert Hall (Blackfeet Native American Studies Director). Presented by Tamarack Grief Resource center in partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities and the UM Humanities Institute. 12-2pm at Browning High School.
Eco-Melancholia Mini Conference
May 5, 2023
The Humanities Institute hosted a mini-conference around themes of “eco-melancholia.” Spotlighting graduate student and faculty research across UM departments, including English, Anthropology, Philosophy, EVST, and others, the mini-conference aimed to underscore the expansive nature of the environmental humanities and our grappling with grief, loss and the human impacts on the environment and the anthropocene. There were four panels exploring Language and Futurism, Haunting and Monstrosity, Landscape, Humans the the Animals Worlds and Eco-Grief. Each panel spotlighted two papers, both by graduate students.
Panel: Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Death, Dying, and Grief
April 28, 2023
Bringing together panelists from a range of disciplines and religions, this event was a meeting of minds on the topic of death through both secular and faith-based approaches to grief. The panel featured Dr. Ashby Kinch, Dr. Bernadette Sweeney, Dr. Brian Dowdle, Dr. Kate Shanley, Lama Tsomo, and Rabbi Laurie Franklin.
Symposium: Loss & Legacy: How Do We Think About Grief?
April 19, 2023
In this first philosophy symposium in our 2023 Loss & Legacy series, we looked at grief and death through the lens of aesthetics, combining art, literature, history, culture and and science into a broad, unified philosophical and humanistic understanding. The symposium featured guests scholars Krys Holmes, Tim Holmes & Ashby Kinch. Facilitated by Merlin Student Scholar Fellow, Julianna Breit, the event involved a combination of presentation, Q & A, and lively community conversation…all with a touch of theatrical, aesthetic flair.
Reading: Poetry of Grief with Kevin Young
April 18, 2023
This event featured Kevin Young reading from his nationally awarded poetry collections on the topic of grief. Young explored various approaches to elegy in form, style, and motif and will present his work in dialogue with concepts of grief, bereavement, death, and legacy. This reading was accompanied by a community Q&A session with lively discussion from the near 200 attendees.
MPL Presentation: Climate Change and Youth: Turning Grief and Anxiety into Activism
April 11, 2023
This presentation featuring grief therapist Linda Goldman and literature professor Louise Economides provided needed tools for enabling professionals and all caring adults to recognize the stresses associated with environmental challenges and help young people externalize the impact of these challenges. By providing clear language for a meaningful dialogue, acknowledging children’s voices, separating fact from fiction about climate issues, encouraging participation in activities for the planet, creating tools to reduce stress, highlighting inspirational role models and organizations — we can ultimately transform anxiety and grief and loss into hope, resilience, and a shared involvement with our children. This event was hosted at the Missoula Public Library, presented by the Tamarack Grief Resource Center and the UM Humanities Institute.
Reading and Conversation
Forms of Endurance: Shackleton, Cancer, and the Art of Survival
A Conversation with Melinda Mueller and Sam McPhee
March 31, 2023
A reading by Melinda Mueller from her book, What the Ice Gets: Shackleton's Antartic Expedition, 1914-1916, which received a 2001 Washington State Book Award and the American Library Notable Books Award for 2002. Following her reading, Sam McPhee, UM English Professor, hosted a conversation with Mueller about her experiences with cancer, research, and endurance in her writing and personal experiences.
Roxy Film: White Noise
March 30, 2023
College professor Jack Gladney (Adam Driver) and his family's comfortable suburban life is upended when a nearby chemical leak causes "The Airborne Toxic Event," releasing a noxious black cloud over the region that forces the Gladney family to evacuate. Written and directed by Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story, The Squid and the Whale) and based on the classic novel by Don DeLillo. Conversation hosted by Dr. Ashby Kinch (Graduate School) and Mike Steinberg (Roxy).
Roxy Film: Plan 75
March 14, 2023
An elderly woman whose means of survival are vanishing, a pragmatic Plan 75 salesman, and a Filipino laborer face choices of life and death. Government program Plan 75 encourages senior citizens to be euthanized to remedy an aged society. Conversation hosted by Dr. Brian Dowdle (Japanese).
Roxy Film: Aftersun
March 7, 2023
Sophie reflects on the shared joy and private melancholy of a holiday she took with her father twenty years earlier. Memories real and imagined fill the gaps between as she tries to reconcile the father she knew with the man she didn't. Conversation hosted by Dr. Matt Strohl (Philosophy).
Roxy Film: Banshees of Inisherin
February 23, 2023
On a remote island off the coast of Ireland, Pádraic (Colin Farrell) is devastated when his buddy Colm (Brendan Gleeson) suddenly puts an end to their lifelong friendship. With help from his sister (Kerry Condon) and a troubled young islander (Barry Keoghan), Pádraic sets out to repair the damaged relationship by any means necessary. However, as Colm's resolve only strengthens, he soon delivers an ultimatum that leads to shocking consequences. Conversation hosted by Drs. Katie Kane (English) and Bernadette Sweeney (Theatre). Sign up to reserve your spot here on the Roxy's website.
MPL Film: Hotel by the River
December 9, 2022
December's selection was a special screening and post-film discussion of the movie Hotel by the River from South Korea, directed by Hong Sang-soo. Dr. Matthew Strohl moderated the discussion. This program is part of the series Re-Imagining Death: Conversations on Dying, Loss, and Grief in partnership with UM's Humanities Institute. Convinced he's on the verge of death, an ageing poet invites his two bickering sons to an isolated hotel for a final goodbye. Running time is 96 minutes.
3-Part Theatre Workshop: Staging Grief Together: Ways of Remembering
November 7, 14, and 21, 2022
As part of the ongoing series Re-Imagining Death: Conversations about Dying, Loss, and Grief, in partnership with UM’s Humanities Institute, Dr. Bernadette Sweeney hosted this 3-part theatre workshop at the library on November 7, 14, and 21. Sessions were organized around the themes of ritual, remembering, ghosting, and preparing. Participants used different script extracts that staged ritual, grief, and loss in different ways around these 4 themes and considered how theatre allows us to be playful with our representations and understandings of death, absence and embodiment, and memory.
Community Lecture: Ira Byock
November 2, 2022
This program was presented by the Partners Hope Foundation and kicked off their National Hospice and Palliative Care Month events. In partnership with Partners Hope Foundation, the organization creating a center for end-of-life care for Western Montana, and in honor of National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, Ira Byock, MD, FAAHPM shared his life's work and insights at a special evening with the Missoula public. Dr. Byock is a leading palliative care physician, author and public advocate for improving care through the end of life. Dr. Byock is the author of three books, Dying Well (1997), The Four Things That Matter Most (2004) and The Best Care Possible (2012), which have become standards in the field of hospice and palliative care. His latest book, tackling the crisis surrounding serious illness and dying in America and Byock’s quest to transform care through the end of life, won the Annual Books for a Better Life Wellness Award. Dr. Byock is Founder and Chief Medical Officer of the Institute for Human Caring of Providence St. Joseph Health, a 50-hospital health system. He lectures nationally and internationally and has been a featured guest on national television and radio programs.
Roxy Film: The Sixth Sense
October 25, 2022
Young Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) is haunted by a dark secret: he is visited by ghosts. Cole is frightened by visitations from those with unresolved problems who appear from the shadows. He is too afraid to tell anyone about his anguish, except child psychologist Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis). As Dr. Crowe tries to uncover the truth about Cole's supernatural abilities, the consequences for client and therapist are a jolt that awakens them both to something unexplainable. Conversation hosted by Dr. Matthew Strohl.
Roxy Film: The Sea Inside
October 18, 2022
Based on the true story of Ramon Sampedro’s 30-year campaign to win the right to end his life with dignity. Conversation hosted by Dr. Jannine Montauban.
Community Panel: The Psychology of Imagination
October 18, 2022
In collaboration with the NEH-funded project Re-imagining Death: Conversations about Dying Loss, and Grief, the Humanities Institute, and the Missoula Public Library, the IHH helped facilitate a conversation between Cathy Weber, Visual Artist, Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor, Neuroscientist and Physician, and Dr. Ashby Kinch, author of Imago Mortis: Mediating Images of Death in Late Medieval Culture.
Community Panel: Exploring Grief: Image, Self-Reflection, and the Grieving Brain
October 17, 2022
This event featured a presentation and panel discussion with Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor, Dr. Ashby Kinch, and artmaker Cathy Weber. They explored the human experience of grief through a cross-disciplinary dialogue among art, art history, literature, neuroscience, and psychology. Brief presentations by each panelist introduced rich topics for exploration for attendees, who were asked to reflect on the experience of grief by looking at, and responding to, art from the past and present, as well as considering the role our brain plays in the way we process grief. Participants were encouraged to respond to images, ask questions and engage in a thoughtful dialogue through the rich visual content, compelling historical context, and insightful scientific concepts. Panelists included: Dr. Ashby Kinch, University of Montana Graduate Dean and author of Imago Mortis: Mediating Images of Death, who specializes in the art and literature of death and dying in the early 15th century; Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor, University of Arizona Associate Professor of Psychology and author of The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss, who studies how the brain comprehends our new world after the death of a loved one; and Cathy Weber, artmaker, who discussed how personal grief inspired the studio artist through the Grief Series (Exhibit and Catalogue, Art Museum of Missoula, 2000), which will be mounted at the Missoula Public Library for an intimate, close-in experience for viewers.
MPL Film: Titane
October 14, 2022
October's selection was a special screening and post-film discussion of the movie Titane from France (rated R). Prof. Matthew Strohl moderated the discussion. A woman with a titanium plate fitted in her head and murderous intent on her mind embarks on a bizarre journey of identity and unconditional love when she's forced to go on the run. Running time is 108 minutes.
Roxy Film: Evening
October 11, 2022
Lying on her deathbed, drifting in and out of consciousness, Ann Grant Lord (Vanessa Redgrave) calls forth memories of her one true love, Harris Arden (Patrick Wilson). As a young woman, she met Harris at her best friend's wedding and had a brief affair, but it ended when he left her to marry another. As Ann recalls the bittersweet time in her life, her daughters (Toni Collette, Natasha Richardson) try to come to terms with her imminent death. Conversation hosted by Dr. Amy Ratto Parks.
Roxy Film: Drive My Car
October 4, 2022
Two years after his wife’s unexpected death, Yusuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima), a renowned stage actor and director, receives an offer to direct a production of Uncle Vanya at a theater festival in Hiroshima. There, he meets Misaki Watari (Toko Miura), a taciturn young woman assigned by the festival to chauffeur him in his beloved red Saab 900. As the production’s premiere approaches, tensions mount amongst the cast and crew, not least between Yusuke and Koji Takatsuki, a handsome TV star who shares an unwelcome connection to Yusuke’s late wife. Forced to confront painful truths raised from his past, Yusuke begins - with the help of his driver – to face the haunting mysteries his wife left behind. Adapted from Haruki Murakami’s short story, Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car is a haunting road movie traveling a path of love, loss, acceptance, and peace. Winner of three prizes at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, including Best Screenplay. Conversation hosted by Dr. Matthew Strohl.
Roxy Film: Spirited Away
September 27, 2022
Ten-year-old Chihiro and her parents stumble upon a seemingly abandoned amusement park. After her mother and father are turned into giant pigs, Chihiro meets the mysterious Haku, who explains that the park is a resort for supernatural beings who need a break from their time spent in the earthly realm, and that she must work there to free herself and her parents. Conversation hosted by Dr. Brian Dowdle.
Roxy Film: Ghost
September 20, 2022
Sam Wheat (Patrick Swayze) is a banker, Molly Jensen (Demi Moore) is an artist, and the two are madly in love. However, when Sam is murdered by friend and corrupt business partner Carl Bruner (Tony Goldwyn) over a shady business deal, he is left to roam the earth as a powerless spirit. When he learns of Carl's betrayal, Sam must seek the help of psychic Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg) to set things right and protect Molly from Carl and his goons. Conversation hosted by Dr. Matthew Strohl.
Community Reading: Moon on the Water or Face in the Mirror: The Last Poems of Billy Conway
Spetember 13, 2022
This event hosted an evening of poetry and song and a meditation on grief as art. It featured Chris Dombrowski and Jeffrey Foucault and was held at the Missoula Children's Theatre.
MPL Film: After Life
September 9, 2022
September’s selection was a special screening and post-film discussion of the movie After Life from Japan. Dr. Brian Dowdle moderated a post-film discussion. If you could choose only one memory to hold on to for eternity, what would it be? That’s the question at the heart of Hirokazu Kore-eda’s bittersweet fantasia in which the recently deceased find themselves in a limbo realm where they must select a single cherished moment from their life to be recreated on film for them to take into the next world. Running time is 119 minutes.
MPL Film: Pig
August 29, 2022
In the library's Cooper Room B, the MPL hosted a screening and post film discussion of the 2021 film Pig with Nicolas Cage. Running time is 92 minutes. Prof. Matthew Strohl moderated the discussion.
MPL Film: Hana-bi
June 10, 2022
June’s selection was a special screening and post-film discussion of the movie Hana-bi from Japan. Dr. Matthew Strohl moderated the discussion. Feeling responsible for the shattered lives of his loved ones, beleaguered police detective Nishi takes desperate measures to try and set things right in a world gone wrong. With his wife suffering from leukemia and his partner paralyzed from a brutal gangster attack, Nishi borrows money from a yakuza loan shark and then robs a bank to clear his debt. The yakuza, however, are not so easily bought off, sending Nishi down a road paved with violence. Running time is 103 minutes.
Re-Imagining Death Book Club: Dara Horn
May 23, 2022
Discussion led by Matt Semanoff on Dara Horn's book, People Love Dead Jews: Reports from the Haunted Present. Hosted by the MPL.
Community Lecture: Orphans, Actors, and Ghosts: Exiled Writers on Loss and Life
May 9, 2022
A presentation and conversation with Erin Saldin entitled Orphans, Actors, and Ghosts: Exiled Writers on Loss and Life. Hosted by the MPL.
MPL Screening with Directors: Walking Out
April 15, 2022
April’s film was a special screening of the 2017 film Walking Out with the film's directors, Alex and Andrew Smith. This film screening and discussion were in conjunction with the Cheap Date Night series. Running time is 95 minutes.
Re-Imagining Death Book Club: Short Stories
April 11, 2022
During the April 11 discussion, Dr. Clary Loisel led a discussion on the short stories "The Son" by Horacio Quiroga and "Walking Out" by David Quammen.
Film Screening and Discussion: Death Is Our Business
March 30, 2022
A film screening of the PBS Frontline documentary, Death Is Our Business, was followed by a community conversation with Dr. Tashel Bordere: A Spotlight on Social Justice, COVID, & New Orleans’ Grief Rituals. Death Is Our Business examines in intimate and moving detail how Black funeral homes in New Orleans have had to adapt to the devastating impact of COVID-19 in their community, and how it has transformed the Black community’s cherished cultural practices. Dr. Bordere guided a community discussion after the film addressing the significance of cultural grief rituals. This was a partnership between Tamarack Grief Resource Center and the University of Montana Humanities Institute, with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Alex Cares.
Community Lecture: Manifestations and Performances of Grief in Irish Culture
March 14, 2022
This lecture, Manifestations and Performances of Grief in Irish Culture, was presented by Dr. Katie Kane and Dr. Bernadette Sweeney at the Missoula Public Library.
Community Lecture: Irish Traditions of Lament
March 7, 2022
This lecture, Irish Traditions of Lament, was presented by Dr. Katie Kane and Dr. Bernadette Sweeney at the Missoula Public Library.
Community Lecture: A Conversation About Grief and Writing with Qlispe Poet Heather Cahoon, author of Horsefly Dress
February 28, 2022
The February 28 discussion was on themes of grief, writing, psychology, and culture with Qlispe poet Dr. Heather Cahoon, author of Horsefly Dress. Dr. Amy Ratto-Parks moderated the event.
Community Lecture: Death, Rebirth and Endless Cycles in Hinduism
February 7, 2022
The February 7 discussion was on Death, Rebirth and Endless Cycles in Hinduism, presented by Dr. Ruth Vanita.
Community Lecture: Poetry, Grief, and Preparing for the Inevitable
January 24, 2022
This was the first of many events hosted by the University of Montana Humanities Institute in partnership with the Missoula Public Library. The January 24 discussion was on Poetry, Grief, and Preparing for the Inevitable, presented by Dr. Ashby Kinch.