How does technology change how we deal with the dead? What are the ethical implications in an age where we can create synthetic bodies? Are we doing enough as a society to address the subject of death?

These questions and more will be out in the open as Manchester Metropolitan University’s fourth Encountering Corpses series of events comes to the ESRC Festival of Social Science, on Saturday 10th November 2018 at No 70 Oxford Street.

Encountering Corpses is a project which seeks to explore how dead bodies are received in society – started by Professor Craig Young at Manchester Metropolitan University, determined to bring consideration of the remains of the dead into the open, rather than treating ‘death’ as a distant prospect.

For 2018 the theme is an especially-relevant ‘the Post-Human Corpse, Death and Digital Technology’.

Facial reconstruction, synthetic human bodies and digital autopsy will all be explored, as the day of events and interactive experiences (9.30am-5pm) seeks to explore how technological advances are changing human interactions with dead bodies. This includes delving into the burial, medical, spiritual and social implications this can have.

Photo: Ade Hunter

The event is free to all and bookable via Eventbrite, with presentations, exhibitions and hands-on activities for guests. These will include facial reconstructions and related artworks from the exciting FaceLab project at Liverpool John Moores University (presented by Kathryn Smith, Caroline Wilkinson and Mark Roughley).

Have you heard of a digital autopsy? The technology behind this relatively new approach to analysing dead bodies will also be demonstrated and on display, delivered by Dr Gethin Evans of Healthcare Science at Manchester Metropolitan University.

The event actively seeks to highlight ways in which approaches to death and dying can advance to improve treatment and reduce distress. For example, Encountering Corpses this year includes the EndOLSim project which will bring and discuss synthetic humans used in nursing training for palliative care. David Garbutt of Salford University’s School of Health and Society and Michaela Barnard from The University of Manchester are the co-creators and will be on-hand to discuss.

There will also be further thought-provoking discussion, as two exciting keynote speakers will frame the day and provoke thought about death, the digital and synthetic humans. This includes a special international visit from associate Professor Erin E. Edwards, author of The Modernist Corpse, who will be flying in from Miami University. Erin will be introduced by Dr Matt Foley, Lecturer in English at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Dr John Troyer of the University of Bath’s Centre for Death and Society (CDAS) will also present an introductory keynote address that will highlight the issues around digital technology and death.

Encountering Corpses IV is set to be a thought-provoking day, getting guests to grips with the big questions technology poses to the treatment and perception of dead bodies.

 It is active public engagement like this which can in turn advance progress and raise the importance of death positivity – actively addressing death and preparing people for it through conversation and awareness.

According to Professor Craig Young: "It's amazing that the 'Encountering Corpses' series of events has reached its fourth event and this year's line up looks fantastic. The purpose of the series is to bring into scrutiny the fact that we seem to be encountering the dead body more and more in different ways in contemporary society, and we seek to explore those different encounters and explore why they are happening more often. To be able to open this up to the public again for this year's event is a great opportunity to engage anyone who is interested in debates about this topic or learning about the use of synthetic humans and other digital technologies in death contexts, many of which were a surprise to me!"

The event is free to attend as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science, with more details at: esrc.ukri.org/festival and via Manchester Metropolitan University’s Research in Arts and Humanities (RAH!): https://www2.mmu.ac.uk/artshumanities/rah/events/detail/index.php?id=9113

70 Oxford St, Manchester, M1 5NH