Opening Ceremony Podcast
Opening Ceremony with Jess May is a podcast focuses on ceremonies and how they tell our human stories!
Jess May is an Award Winning Celebrant who chats with amazing human beings about their life events, passions and careers and the ceremonies associated with them.
By focusing on ceremony throughout history, in different times, cultures and places we learn about the multitude of human lives and voices and how we are both different and interconnected.
Ceremonies remind us of what it means to be human and that is what makes them fascinating. Join Jess and her fantastic community to learn more about why they matter and how they are changing over time.
Opening Ceremony Podcast
WHY DO WE PUT THINGS IN GRAVES WITH OUR DEAD? DR JENNIFER RILEY
Dr Jennifer Riley is a research fellow in Divinity at the University of Aberdeen. Her current research explores grave goods in the UK today – the objects and items placed with people when they die, which almost certainly cannot be retrieved afterwards. She’s passionate about using her research to spark conversations about how the UK approaches death, the personalization of funerals and memorials, environmental considerations, and the concept of the afterlife in the modern world.
You can find Dr Jennifer here:
Facebook - just plain old Jennie Riley there
Instagram - @baggageforthebeyond
Linkedin (if you're so inclined) - Dr Jennifer Riley
X - JennieARiley1
Bluesky - @jen-studies-death.bsky.social
Dr Jennifer Riley FHEA
Leverhulme Early Career Fellow || Research Fellow
Divinity and Religious Studies || University of Aberdeen
Pronouns: she/her
Latest paper – ‘Why does funeral attendance matter? Revisiting ‘Configurational Eulogies’ in light of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK’ (Mortality, 2024): https://doi.org/10.1080/13576275.2023.2225029
University profile: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/people/jennifer.riley
Baggage for the Beyond: https://abdn.site/baggage-for-the-beyond
The Care in Funerals Casebook: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/sdhp/philosophy/care-in-funerals-casebook-2456.php
The Educating for Inclusive, Caring Communities Webpage: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/eicc