An Adult Workshop On Re-thinking Death. An anthropological experience of lifelong education through the taboo of the end of life

During December 2014 and April 2015, I lead three-day workshops in order to aware participants about the taboo of death in contemporary Italian culture using an informal and partecipative methodology. My objective were to foster constructive discussions and to create tools aiming to help participants in their daily activity of terminal patients care. The workshop was constituted by lectures, focus-groups and working-groups to elaborate presented topics, creative activities to express participants’ emotions, open discussions to stimulate the debate, relaxing exercises to take care of participants, shared meals and breaks to create a confortable and intimate atmosphere. In order to shape the subjects of the workshop, I elaborated my previous experience in thanatology and in anthropology of death, trying to present them in a participative approach. In fact, every discussion stimulated the reactions of participants and they were constantly invited to contribute to the common debate referring to their experience in taking care of terminal patients. Thanks to this workshop, I had the opportunity to call me into questions comparing the results of my previous fieldwork with the know-how of participants. It also gave me the occasion to record new anthropological data, stories and knowledge thanks to participants contributes based on their daily activity of terminal patients care.