Care and Caring
BSA Social Aspects of Death, Dying and Bereavement Study Group Annual Symposium
16 December 2025 (9.30am-4.30pm)
University of Nottingham, UK
About the Event
The British Sociological Association’s Death, Dying and Bereavement Study Group invites abstract submissions for our upcoming symposium on the theme of Care and Caring. This event will explore the complex and relational practices, meanings, and experiences of care in the context of death, dying, and bereavement.
We welcome submissions that critically engage with care in the context of death and dying in its many forms - professional, familial, voluntary, mutual, community and self-care - and the ways these practices are shaped by social, cultural, political, and economic contexts.
Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
- Caring for the dying across different settings (hospitals, hospices, homes, community)
- Emotional, physical, and spiritual labour in end-of-life care
- Care relationships in the context of grief and loss
- Inequalities and ethics in access to care
- Experiences of carers and caring networks
- Care work during public health crises
- Cultural narratives and representations of care in death and bereavement
- Policy, practice, and the future of care at the end of life
- Roles of technology in the care of the dying and bereaved
We look forward to bringing together researchers, practitioners, and others with an interest in the sociological dimensions of care and caring at the end of life. We encourage contributions from diverse methodological and theoretical perspectives, including sociological, interdisciplinary, and creative approaches. We welcome and encourage abstracts from those working outside of academia, including practitioners and care workers, community members and artists.
Please submit your abstracts before midnight on Tuesday, 30 September 2025 to the Convenors. We will notify you of the outcome of your submission by Monday, 6 October 2025.
Abstract Submission Guidelines
- Abstracts should be no longer than 250 words.
- Please include your name, affiliation, and email address.
- Please save the file with your name.
Key Dates
- Abstract submission deadline: midnight on Tuesday, 30 September.
- Abstract outcomes: by Monday, 6 October.
- Event registration opens: Monday, 6 October.
- Symposium: Tuesday, 16 December (9.30-4.30pm).
Contact the convenors (Natalie Richardson and Diana Teggi).
Find out more about the DDB Study Group Page.