Death is an experience we all must face but so few of us really understand. The subject is one of the “big” philosophical questions that continues to intrigue scholars, artists, scientists, philosophers, and theologians and provides fertile soil for a variety of responses to our mortality. As part of its ongoing commitment to the community, to life-long learning, and to excellence in scholarship and education, the Ernest G. Welch School of Art and Design at Georgia State University is pleased to sponsor an interdisciplinary symposium on Death (December 14 and 15, 2012). In the spirit of inquiry and intellectual curiosity, the Welch School of Art and Design is soliciting student responses to death from all disciplines. Undergraduate and Graduate students may submit abstracts for papers or presentations on the broad subject of death. Paper topics may include, but are not limited to, Death in Art, Death in Literature, the Sociology of Death, Death rites in modern and ancient civilizations, Death and Politics, the role of Religion in Death, Death and the Physical Sciences, Death and Ethics, etc.
Abstracts must be 200 words or less. Please send them via email to: jdecker@gsu.edu with the subject line “Death Symposium Submission.” Please be sure to include your name, your major, your advisor’s name, and contact information. Submissions are due by October 1, 2012, we will notify you of your acceptance by October 30, 2012. All student papers will be presented Saturday, December 15, 2012. Professional-level presentations, by scholars from a variety of fields, will be Friday, December 14, 2012. We encourage all student presenters to attend the sessions Friday.
Friday Schedule and Saturday Schedule.
Library South, 8th Floor, GSU
Time: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Saturday December 15th:
Student Symposium
Troy Moore Library, General Classroom Building, 9th Floor, GSU
Time 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Professor Gary Laderman (Emory University)
Author of Sacred Matters: Celebrity Worship, Sexual Ecstasies, the Living Dead, and Other Signs of Religious Life in the United States (The New Press, 2009)
Professor John E. Seery (Pomona College)
Author of Political Theory for Mortals, Shades of Justice, Images of Death (Cornell University Press, 1996)
Professor Karl Taube (UC Riverside)
Author of several works including Aztec and Maya Myths (University Texas Press, 1993)
Associate Professor Tiffiny A. Tung (Vanderbilt University)
Author of Violence, Ritual, and the Wari Empire. (University Press of Florida, 2012)
Professor Heidi Kaufman (University of Delaware)
Author of English Origins, Jewish Discourses, and the Nineteenth-Century Novel: Reflections on a Nested Nation (Pennsylvania State University Press, 2004)
Associate Professor Isabelle Loring Wallace (Art History, University of Georgia)
Co-editor of Contemporary Art and Classical Myth (Ashgate 2011). Co-editor of Architectural Strategies in Contemporary Art. (Ashgate Press, 2012)
Artist Panel Discussion
Moderator: Stephanie Kolpy
Assistant Professor, Mark Burleson
Candice Greathouse
Associate Professor, Constance Thalken
Things to remember for December 14 and 15:
* According to some theories current in popular culture, the world is scheduled to end December 21, 2012 The symposium is part of this larger social discussion and, as such, the papers presented are all the more timely.
* Our invited speakers are working scholars and teachers who are sharing their research with the Georgia State University community. This is a great opportunity to share ideas with scholars from multiple disciplines who have come from across the country to discuss the subject of death.
* Finals will be over and students and faculty will be able to enjoy attending the seminar without any conflicts with academic schedules.
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"Resurrection"; Mixed media works by Stephanie Kolpy and Erin Dixon at
Underground Atlanta. The first of a series of Art exhibits exploring Death.
Sponsored by the Welch Symposium on Death. September 17 - September 28, 2012
"Views of the Unknown"; An Art Exhibit by the Interior Design Studio at the Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design. The second of a series of Art exhibits exploring Death. Sponsored by the Welch Symposium on Death. October 4 - October 26, 2012 at Underground Atlanta.
"LifeSpan"; An Art Exhibit by the Textiles Studio at the Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design. This exhibit examines both the ephemeral quality of fabric and the ability of fabric to mark a moment in time. The connection of fabric to memory is explored using both heat-shaped 3d surface designs as well as digitally designed applique. "LifeSpan" will be on exhibit at Underground Atlanta, November 1- November 17, 2012. Sponsored by the Welch Symposium on Death.
Egypt, Death and Dining; Associate Professor, Melinda Hartwig. Wednesday, September 19, 2012,noon - 1pm, Troy Moore Library, 9th Floor, General Classroom Building.
Social Work and Death; Professor, Nancy Kropf. Wednesday, October 17, 2012, noon - 1pm, Troy Moore Library, 9th Floor, General Classroom Building.
Early Modern History and Death; Associate Professor, Jake Selwood. Wednesday, November 7, 2012. noon - 1pm, Location TBA.
