Last Updated on Monday, 16 August 2010 12:10

Body, Memory, Emotion:
The Cross-Cultural Management of Grief

by Beth Conklin, Ph.D.

NPI Luncheon

Friday, 13 August 2010

Mourning the death of loved ones and recovering from their loss are universal human experiences. As such, the process of grieving is something that most therapists will encounter in their clinical work. The rituals, values, and symbols surrounding death help both the dead and the survivors through this difficult transition. This talk will take a look at the complex experiences of death, dying, and mourning, focusing on cross-cultural understandings of death and both collective and individual expression of grief and mourning.

Dr. Conklin is a cultural and medical anthropologist specializing in the ethnography of indigenous peoples of lowland South America (Amazonia). Her research focuses on the anthropology of the body, religion and ritual, health and healing, death and mourning, the politics of indigenous rights, and ecology, environmentalism, and cultural and religious responses to climate change. She teaches courses on anthropological theory, medicine and healing, indigenous peoples, and environmental issues. Her publications include Consuming Grief: Compassionate Cannibalism in an Amazonian Society, "Body Paint, Feathers, and VCRs: Aesthetics and Authenticity in Amazonian Activism," "The Shifting Middle Ground: Brazilian Indians and Eco-Politics" (with Laura Graham), "Ski Masks, Nose Rings, Veils and Feathers: Body Arts on the Front Lines of Identity Politics," and "Environmentalism, Global Community, and the New Indigenism."

11:30 A.M. - LUNCH SERVED
noon -- 1:00 - Program Begins

(Qualifies for one hour of continuing education)