Post by Karsten Thomsen

Looking forward to this! Can't help but letting you in on this very interesting summer school on thanatology at Southern Danish University come August. Also, a little in awe to be among lecturers of this kind of exellence and experience. My own contribution moves from history to practice. I begin with Philippe Ariès's account of death's reversal (inspired by Ulrik Nissen) - from a familiar, communal event to something hidden and medicalised - and what this shift means for how we die today. From there, I ask how theological concepts of judgement, individual and collective, have shifted across periods and traditions, and how far our attitudes toward death reflect their broader cultural context. Building on this, I present a contemporary art of dying model - a framework for interpreting existential and spiritual issues at the end of life - introducing Carlo Leget's Diamond Model (Guldin & Leget, 2024; Leget, 2017). Finally, I turn to the question that animates all of this: what, if anything, constitutes a good death? Drawing on spiritual care practice and the chaplain's distinctive contribution to end-of-life care, I'll suggest that the answer resists easy formulation — a point Julian Barnes captures with characteristic wit and unease in Nothing to Be Frightened Of (2009). My hope is to leave room for that uncertainty, while still offering practitioners a workable framework for accompanying the dying. From the course describtion: "What does it mean to die with dignity in modern society? The answer is complex and invites interdisciplinary reflection on the physical, psychological, social, cultural, ethical and spiritual dimensions of dying — the central focus of thanatology. This intensive two-week summer school at the University of Southern Denmark introduces students to key debates in modern thanatology, with particular attention to palliative care, end-of-life decision-making, assisted dying, as well as questions of spiritual and existential care within modern health systems." The course is part of an EU-EPICUR funded research project with the same title as the course.