Rarely does the conversation about death transcend the medical system. It’s no wonder that the topic of death (our own and that of others) remains an intimate matter, discussed only within the family, among friends, or in therapy sessions.
Humanitarian emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters, accidents, or armed conflicts bring a few televised interventions by doctors into the public discourse, complemented by journalistic investigations that speak of negligence and imminent danger, creating an apocalyptic picture of death that evokes only fear and helplessness. In the absence of public support for the grieving process or an extended community, we go through grief alone, offering ourselves individual answers to the most challenging theme of human existence: death. We believe that it is possible to talk publicly about death, and together with artist and anthropologist Rucsandra Pop and her guests, ISCOADA invites the people of Timișoara to a gentle and open dialogue about how we deal with loss, the externalization of funeral rituals, online grieving, death education, palliative care, complex/ambiguous grief, and the social minimization of pet loss.
Thus, we will have a dialogue with: // ??. ????? ????? ?????̦?, psychologist and psychotherapist. She studied for her degree in Psychology at the West University of Timișoara, a master’s in clinical psychology (WUT), and a PhD in psychology at Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași. She is an expert in forensic and extrajudicial psychology and in attachment issues in institutionalized children and/or those with disabilities. Her professional interest is inspired by human suffering, in any environment or moment of life in which it occurs.
// ??? ????? ????????, nurse and founder of the Elena and Marius Tutunaru Association and nursing home.
// ????. ????. ??????? ???????̦, PhD in philosophy, associate professor and vice-dean at the Faculty of Political Science, Philosophy, and Communication at the West University of Timișoara. His research interests include the history of philosophy, existentialist philosophy, representative democracy, panopticism, Byzantine humanism, austerity politics, and epistemology.
// ???????? ??????, writer, graduate of the Faculty of Philology at the University of Bucharest (1973) and doctoral course in Philology in 1985. Over the years, Smaranda Vultur has been a lecturer of Romanian language and literature at the Sorbonne in Paris, as well as at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. In 1992, she received the Writers’ Union Award for her debut in essay, criticism, and literary theory for the book “Infinitul mărunt.”
The discussion will be moderated by // ????????? ???, artist, writer, and PhD in anthropology. Rucsandra is passionate about how dialogue and creativity can bring more trust between people, transform cities, villages, or neighborhoods into communities, essentially into a better home. She creates, together with artists and researchers, cultural projects inspired by subjects that are difficult or shameful to talk about, such as domestic violence, infertility, mental health, or death.
The ISCOADA Talks event precedes the performative installation “Every Death Is a Door,” conceived by Rucsandra Pop – a meeting place for the community and a safe space where people can reflect on death and grief and engage in collective mourning mediated by art. The performances will take place from August 31 to September 5 at FABER Timișoara (Hala I FABER-AZUR).
// ????? ?? ??? ???????? ?? ????. The event is organized by ISCOADA Platform in partnership with the Fragile Society Association and FABER Timișoara, as part of the multi-annual program “ISCOADA Hub for Cultural Research,” funded by AFCN and implemented with the support of partners: Fundația Calea Victoriei, IQ Ads, Libertatea, Radio România Cultural, Zeppelin, Documentaria, University of Bucharest – Faculty of Sociology and Social Work and Faculty of Philosophy; SNSPA Bucharest – Faculty of Political Science; “Ovidius” University of Constanța – Faculty of History and Political Science; “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iași – Faculty of Philosophy and Social-Political Sciences; West University of Timișoara – Faculty of Sociology and Psychology; University of Oradea – Faculty of Social-Human Sciences; “Babeș-Bolyai” University of Cluj – Faculty of Sociology and Social Work, and Transilvania University of Brașov – Faculty of Sociology and Communication, Fragile Society, FABER, LondoHome, Mobius Gallery, Point.
Original illustration by artist Ramona Iacob.
The ISCOADA Talks series aims to bring diverse perspectives on difficult, relevant, and current topics that are talked about too little in public discourse.
Cultural program co-financed by the Administration of the National Cultural Fund. The project does not necessarily represent the position of the Administration of the National Cultural Fund. AFCN is not responsible for the content of the project or the way in which the results of the project may be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the grant beneficiary.
