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A People's History of Death with Molly Conisbee

, –
  • Free
  • Late
  • 18+
  • Relaxed
  • Speech-to-text
  • British Sign Language interpreted
A seated audience in a bright library space with many lampshades hanging from the ceiling. People are waiting for a an event to begin in the Reading Room at Wellcome Collection.
Discussion in the Reading Room, David Bishop. Source: Wellcome Collection. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

What you’ll do

Join us for an evening of activities to mark the launch of 'No Ordinary Deaths: A People’s History of Mortality' by Molly Conisbee. We'll be exploring the topic of death, dying, and how these endings shape societies.

There will be an object spotlight, a display of archive materials and a discussion with the author, where you'll have a chance to ask questions.

At the end of the evening, you can enjoy refreshments, buy the book and have it signed by Molly Conisbee.

There will be a chill-out space on level 1 available for everyone to use throughout the evening. 

This event is recommended for people aged 18 and over.

Dates

, –

Events

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  • Session
'The Dance of Death' Object Spotlight
Reading Room
This session will be led by Sarah Dabbs and we'll be looking at an oil painting in our collection called 'The Dance of Death'. We'll be discussing early modern dancing plagues, dancing skeletons and what they reveal about our history.
Check for tickets

Tickets via Eventbrite

  • Relaxed

–

  • Session
Death in the Archives
Viewing Room
Drop in to a collection showcase inspired by Molly Conisbee's new book, 'No Ordinary Deaths: A People’s History of Mortality'. You'll meet members of our library team and view historical materials in our collection related to the history of death.
Just turn up
  • Relaxed

–

  • Discussion
In Conversation with Molly Conisbee
Reading Room
Join an intimate discussion between Molly Conisbee and Kate Lister to explore rituals around death and the afterlife in the past, and what they mean for society today. The conversation will be inspired by Molly’s new book 'No Ordinary Deaths: A People’s History of Mortality', a life-affirming social history of mourning and grief in everyday life.
Check for tickets

Tickets via Eventbrite

  • Speech-to-text
  • British Sign Language interpreted
  • Relaxed

Need to know

Location

This is an event with several different activities. Check specific sub-events for their locations.

Relaxed

This is a relaxed event, which means that if you need to, you are welcome to move around and make noise at any time.

Speech-to-text

This event will be live-transcribed. The captions will be displayed on a screen in-venue.

British Sign Language interpreted

This event will have British Sign Language interpretation.

For more information, please visit our Accessibility page. If you have any queries about accessibility, please email us at access@wellcomecollection.org or call

Our event terms and conditions

About your contributors

Molly Conisbee

Molly Conisbee

Author

Molly Conisbee is a social historian and visiting research fellow at the Centre for Death and Society at the University of Bath. She has a PhD from the University of Bristol and has spent the last 10 years researching the social history of death and mourning. Conisbee is also a bereavement counsellor, has curated walks on the history of death around the country and has written for the Guardian and Ecologist.

Sarah Dabbs

Sarah Dabbs

(she/her)
Facilitator

Sarah is a Visitor Experience Assistant at Wellcome Collection, a medical doctor and a writer. She loves all things medical history, especially around medieval concepts of medicine, Georgian and Dickensian London, and maritime folklore.

Headshot of Ody, who is wearing glasses and smiling.

Ody Caballero-Valdes

Facilitator

Ody is a Library Experience and Engagement Facilitator at Wellcome Collection, an information science professional, and a humanities researcher investigating Spanish manuscript collections from the era of America's discovery.

Ed Bishop

Facilitator

Ed is a Library Experience and Engagement Facilitator who has worked at Wellcome for many years. He has in-depth knowledge of engaging with the collections. 

A headshot of Kate Lister, who has short blonde curly hair, is wearing a blue jumper and is leaning against a brick wall.

Dr Kate Lister

Facilitator

Kate is a sex historian and author of several books, including 'A Curious History of Sex'. She is the host of the hit podcast 'Betwixt the Sheets', a weekly columnist for iNews and occasional TV presenter.

Peter Abraham

British Sign Language interpreter

Peter is a BSL interpreter whose NRCPD number is 101079X.