Governing the Dead in the Megacities of the Global South: Call for papers

Dr. Christien Klaufus and Dr. Julie Rugg invite submissions for a forthcoming edited book volume titled "Governing the Dead in the Megacities of the Global South", to be published in 2027 by Routledge.

About the book

Under the working title Governing the Dead in the Megacities of the Global South, this upcoming volume in the Routledge series Accommodating the Dead: Materialities, Rituals and Technologies will explore how cities and municipal authorities grapple with excessive pressure on cemetery, morgue, and crematorium infrastructures.

Focusing on megacities (over 10 million inhabitants) and high-density urban areas (over 1,000 inhabitants per square kilometer) across Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia, this collection aims to:

• Bridging Death Studies and Urban Planning: Theoretically articulate the fields of death studies with that of urban studies, especially in the context of pressing claims that both fields (urban studies as well as death theories) need to decenter epistemologies.
• Addressing Cultural Diversity in High-Density Cities: Theoretically unpack the specific challenges of large, socio-culturally extremely diverse metropolises in accommodating the dead in culturally appropriate ways.
• Comparing Infrastructure Governance Across Regions: Empirically juxtapose state-of-the-art knowledge on dead disposal regimes and governance from different megacities in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, especially in light of increasing problems with overpopulated and/or underattended cemeteries, morgues, and crematoriums, to allow for comparisons and complementary policy ideas.
• Advancing Methodologies from the Global South: Methodologically innovate epistemologies with specific attention for new approaches coming from Global South-based scholars and also allowing for mixed methods approaches.

Call for papers

Scholars, urban planners, and researchers are invited to submit chapter proposals focusing on theoretically and empirically informed case studies of no more than 250 words by the end of October 2026. 

If accepted, full chapters of up to 8,000 words must be completed by the end of March 2027. Please note that while contributions are welcomed from across the globe, all submissions must be written in English. The volume is scheduled for publication in 2027. 

For complete details on the Routledge series Accommodating the Dead, submission guidelines, and series scope, please consult the following documents:

• Official Call for Papers
• Book Proposal Form 

For any questions or to submit your proposal, please contact:

• Dr. Christien Klaufus (University of Amsterdam): c.j.klaufus@uva.nl
• Dr. Julie Rugg (University of York): julie.rugg@york.ac.uk

*Cover photo generated with Google Gemini (2026).

Book: “Studi sul Cimitero monumentale di Pesaro”

A book that explores the Monumental cemetery of Pesaro as a cultural landmark, blending history, architecture, and collective memory.

About the book

The book "Studi sul Cimitero monumentale di Pesaro" (ISBN eBook 9791281782372), edited by Riccardo Paolo Uguccioni, offers a multidisciplinary exploration of Pesaro’s monumental cemetery, examining it not only as a burial site but as a layered cultural landmark where history, architecture, and social memory intersect.

Based on the contributions presented at the eponymous conference held on 16 October 2024 in Pesaro, the book highlights how the cemetery reflects the city’s evolving identity, commemorates notable figures, and embodies a heritage that bridges private remembrance with collective memory.

The digital edition of the book in Italian is available HERE.

Book: "Cementerios y migraciones"

A fascinating book by Celeste Castiglione about migration, memory, and burial spaces in Buenos Aires.

About the book

The book "Cementerios y migraciones: Memorias, espacios funerarios y otras historias de la provincia de Buenos Aires" by Celeste Castiglione delves into the history of migration in the province of Buenos Aires by examining the experience of death far from one’s homeland. 

Through the lens of cemeteries, she explores these spaces as unique sites where memory, identity, and cultural influences converge. These burial grounds serve as witnesses to social dynamics, revealing patterns, ruptures, and continuities that shape collective history.

Find out more at www.edunpaz.unpaz.edu.ar

Book: “Florence's English Cemetery, 1827-1877: Thunders of White Silence”

An overview of all the tombs at the English Cemetery in Florence and insight into its restoration.

About the book

We are pleased to announce the publication of a comprehensive new work, Florence's English Cemetery, 1827-1877: Thunders of White Silence, by Julia Bolton Holloway, the custodian of the English Cemetery in Florence for over two decades.

This 927-page volume, with a 53-page index, meticulously catalogs all existing and lost tombs of the English Cemetery in Florence (which is part of the Association of Significant Cemeteries in Europe), drawing from extensive archival records. The final chapter details the restoration of the cemetery and its beautiful iris garden—Florence's lily—a project carried out by Romanian Roma in Florence, who were taught literacy skills and the art of incising inscriptions on marble.

Book purchase

The book is available through Cambridge University Press, with a 25% discount for registered users. All royalties from the book will support the ongoing preservation of the cemetery.

Book: "Cimiteri e dintorni. Uno spazio di dialogo tra generazioni"

A book on contemporary perception of cemeteries and their potential as spaces for intergenerational dialogue, memory, and life.

A collection of presentations

"Cimiteri e dintorni. Uno spazio di dialogo tra generazioni" is a newly published book, developed through the collaboration of ASCE members from Turin and the University of Turin.

The book was created following the international conference "Around Cemeteries: a space of dialogue across generations and cultures," which was held in Turin on May 30 and 31, 2023. The conference brought together scholars, professionals, and researchers from various fields to discuss cemeteries as places of cultural exchange, historical reflection, and intergenerational dialogue. The presentations from this event have now been compiled into this volume, offering valuable insights into the role of cemeteries in our societies.

Contents of the book

Cimiteri e dintorni explores cemeteries not just as places of remembrance but also as spaces that foster dialogue between generations and cultures. It examines how cemeteries can serve as educational tools, heritage sites, and venues for public engagement. By addressing topics such as memory, identity, artistic expression, and social transformation, the book provides a comprehensive perspective on the significance of cemeteries in contemporary society.

Book purchase

The book was edited by Esterino Adami, Antonella Amatuzzi, and Laura Ramello and published by Neos Edizioni. It is available in Italian and can be purchased on Amazon Italy.

Call for book chapters

Julie Rugg (University of York) and David Ocón (Singapore Management University) invite you to contribute your insights and expertise on cemeteries as heritage sites, the impacts of cemetery tourism, and sustainable practices in cemetery management.

About the book

Julie Rugg (University of York) and David Ocón (Singapore Management University) are co-editing a text for Boydell and Brewer’s  "Heritage Matters" series and are issuing a call for chapter proposals. 

The themes can include:

• the cemetery as a locale for tangible and intangible funeral heritage;
• the principles of cemetery interpretation;
• the emotional, social and economic impact of cemetery tourism;
• contested sites, where the site’s purpose desire for preservation is compromised by the site’s purpose; and
• the interaction between funeral heritage and sustainable development.

A fuller rationale for the text sits below.

Funerary Heritage

Funerary heritage comprises tangible and intangible evidence of ways in which past societies have come to an accommodation with mortality. This text focuses on the considerable funeral heritage associated with cemeteries and other places of interment. 

Over the past thirty years, interest in such sites as heritage assets has expanded substantially, provoking similar substantial growth in cemetery tourism. Cemeteries draw local, national and even international audiences, creating demand for interpretative elements: tours, signage, apps and websites. However, literature making a case for the heritagization of cemeteries pays very little attention to the inherent contradictions and tensions that lie within that process. This text seeks to reframe cemetery heritage as a critical field of study, addressing its multifaceted dimensions, including the intersection of preservation, interpretation, and sustainable development. 

This text will draw together chapters from an international array of scholars, defining critical issues for cemetery heritage, and, in doing so, reframe this area of academic study as a more vibrant arena for critical analysis.

The book will explore five substantive and interconnected themes mentioned above.

Chapter proposals

Please submit a 250-word abstract by November 30th, 2024.

The deadline for completed chapters is September 2025. The chapters will have an 8.000-word limit and will be blind peer reviewed. The text will include academic contributions from across the globe, and all submissions must be in English.

Send abstracts to: julie.rugg@york.ac.uk or davidocon@smu.edu.sg.

You can find the original call for chapters HERE.

Study day and book presentation of Memento Mori III: The Sustainable Cemetery

You are cordially invited to the study day and book presentation of Memento Mori III, which will take place on October 24, 2024, in Nossegem, Belgium.

Study day and book presentation

The Memento Mori III project managers invite you to participate in a study day and the presentation of the book Memento Mori III: The Sustainable Cemetery. The event will take place on October 24, 2024, from 9:30 AM to 5 PM in Nossegem, Belgium.

Participation is free of charge, but due to limited seating, registration is required. Please register by emailing boekvoorstelling@memento-mori.be.

You can find the event program and additional information HERE.

About the book

Memento Mori III: The Sustainable Cemetery, edited by Tamara Ingels and Joeri Mertens, is the latest book in the Memento Mori series.

This book offers insights into historical research, heritage, green cemeteries, and the funerary landscape, all while aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The authors share knowledge and practical experiences, providing sustainable tips for readers. Memento Mori III seeks to engage readers in the sustainability debate surrounding cemeteries, fostering ongoing growth, development, and reflection on these critical topics.

The book will be available for purchase at the event, or you can order it online. More details about the book project can be found at this LINK.

A special book for 20 years of ASCE

An overview of the last 20 years of ASCE, summarized in a special edition printed book.

20 years of ASCE

In 2021, the Association of Significant Cemeteries of Europe (ASCE) celebrated its 20th anniversary. 

As a tribute to this important milestone, a special, more than 100 pages long printed book was prepared, covering a detailed overview of ASCE's operation and activities over the past 20 years - the list of all governing bodies, review of past AGMs and conferences, presentation of the Association and its projects (such as European Cemeteries Route, Cemeteries Entries, Week of Discovering European Cemeteries, EUCEMET, Symbols, Schools on Cemeteries,...), and more.

A special chapter of the book was devoted to articles prepared by all ASCE presidents and some members who shared their own view of the Association, its history, operation and meaning.

A gift for ASCE members

ASCE members who attended this year's AGM and Conference in Belgrade, received the printed book as a gift at the event.  To those members who could not attend the meeting, their copy will be delivered by standard mail in October.

Everyone else who wishes to have the book can download the printable file HERE.

Book: Ancient Greek Art and European Funerary Art

The book is edited by Evangelia Georgitsoyanni, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle upon Tyne, 2019

About the book

This collective volume consists of selected papers, presented at the ASCE Conference: “Ancient Greek Art and European Funerary Art” organized by the Harokopio University of Athens-Greece in 2017, aiming to highlight various cultural aspects of cemeteries.

Book can be obtained at this link.

Book: On the Laying Out, Planting, and Managing of Cemeteries

A special pre-publication subscription offer.

About the book

This limited, numbered hardback edition of the classic "On the Laying Out, Planting, and Managing of Cemeteries", a book by J.C. Loudon with a new Foreword by James Stevens Curl, updates the 1843 original with enlarged type on quality paper. It will include Professor Curl’s annotated Introductory Essay on Loudon’s involvement with cemeteries, its Bibliography, a colour portrait of Loudon, a facsimile of Loudon’s Obituary of 1844, and an Index compiled by Auriol Griffith-Jones.

Discover more HERE.

Book: Maciachini: un positivista eclettico

The Association Amici del Monumentale announces the appearance of a new book, this time dedicated to the works of Carlo Maciachini, the architect of the Monumental Cemetery of Milan.

About the book

The volume will be officially presented at Induno Olona, birthplace of the architect, on February 2nd. Additional presentations will be held at Varese, Milan, Pavia, Busto Arsizio and Trieste since they all host works executed by him. Maciachini, un positivista eclettico (Maciachini, an eclectic positivist) is edited by Carla De Bernardi and Lalla Fumagalli, respectively president and vice-president of the Amici del Monumentale, to celebrate the 200th birth anniversary of the great architect (1818) and properly remember him on the 120th anniversary of his death.

The book is made up of numerous contributions from major professors and academics that provide key elements that highlight Maciachini’s thought and work. As a positivist, he strongly believed in scientific advancement; we owe him the crematory at the Moumentale, the first to be build in Europe. As an architect, he created the eclectic style that originally combined Byzantine, Gothic, Pisan Romanesque features in his masterpiece, the Monumentale Cemetery.

Book: The Dubovac Chatolic Cemetery

A new book presenting the art, history, and heritage of the Dubovac Catholic Cemetery in Karlovac, Croatia.

About the book

A comprehensive study and presentation of the history, important monuments, and architectural features of the Dubovac Cemetery in Karlovac is now available for download. The book was edited by Tatjana Horvatić and Marinka Mužar.

You can download the English version here and Croatian version here.

Book: The Non-Catholic Cemetery in Rome. Its history, its people and its survival for 300 years

The Non-Catholic Cemetery in Rome has released a richly illustrated new book that explores its 300-year history and the many lives connected to it.

About the book

The Non-Catholic Cemetery in Rome recently published a new book intitled "The Non-Catholic Cemetery in Rome. Its history, its people and its survival for 300 years".

This new book explains:

• how the cemetery has grown from its origins in the 18th century to today’s layout, drawing on extensive new research
• who has been buried there, with notes on over 300 of them, ranging from diplomats to dancers and from sculptors to sailors, and an index of their grave locations
• how it has survived various threats, such as a new road and tramline due to be built across the oldest graves
• how its active use today is reconciled with increasing numbers of visitors.

The volume contains more than 80 illustrations (many of them little known and several of them not previously published) and five maps which have been specially drawn for this book.

This book is on sales at the Visitors` Centre at the Cemetery (Via Caio Cestio 6, 00153 Roma) or online at www.cemeteryrome.it.

Book: Churchyard and Cemetery: Tradition and Modernity in Rural North Yorkshire

By Julie Rugg, Manchester University Press, 2013

About the book

This book explores for the first time the turbulent social history of churchyards and cemeteries over the last 150 years. Using sites from across rural North Yorkshire, the text examines the workings of the Burial Acts, and discloses the ways in which religious politics framed burial management. It presents an alternative history of burial which questions notions of tradition and modernity, and challenges long-standing assumptions about changing attitudes towards mortality in England.

This study diverges from the long-standing tendency to regard the churchyard as inherently 'traditional' and the cemetery as essentially 'modern'. Since 1850, both types of site have been subject to the influence of new expectations that burial space would guarantee family burial and the opportunity for formal commemoration. Although the population in central North Yorkshire declined, demand for burial space rose, meaning that many dozens of churchyards were extended, and forty new cemeteries were laid out.

*Source: Google Books

Book: Lo splendore della forma. La scultura negli spazi della memoria

Discover how European funerary and memorial sculpture has shaped cultural memory and the history of modern sculpture over the last two centuries.

About the book

The book "Lo splendore della forma. La scultura negli spazi della memoria" (Eng. The splendor of form. Sculpture in the spaces of memory) by Mauro Felicori and Franco Sborgi is available online.

The book presents the most comprehensive and updated review of the studies on the history of sculpture in European cemeteries.

By buying the volume, you will receive the pdf file of the book "Gli spazi della memoria. Architettura dei cimiteri monumentali europei" (Eng. Spaces of memory. Architecture of European cemeteries) for free.

Book: Westerveld: a monumental journey of discovery

An interesting book that explores the Westerveld Cemetery & Crematorium in Driehuis, Netherlands.

About the book

The memorial park of Westerveld Cemetery & Crematorium, part of "the Facultatieve Group", features many great monuments - each with its own story.

The book Westerveld: A Monumental Journey of Discovery (original title: Westerveld: Een monumentale ontdekkingstocht) discusses one hundred years of special monuments, including those of Anthony Fokker, Lex Goudsmit, Multatuli and Pim Fortuyn. The book also includes a detailed map, giving readers the opportunity to discover for themselves the special sites and beauty of Westerveld.

The book encompasses a well-thought-out selection. "That was quite a challenge, given that all our monuments are special and each has its own story to tell", said director Carla Bosua, "The monuments in the book are special because of their unique character, cultural-historical value and/or fame of the deceased. Therefore, the book includes not only classical monuments, but also very contemporary ones. And naturally describes also urn monuments”.

Book: Biografia di un cimitero italiano. La Certosa di Bologna

The book that offers an in-depth exploration of the history, art, and cultural significance of one of Italy’s most remarkable cemeteries.

About the book

The book "Biografia di un cimitero italiano. La Certosa di Bologna" (Eng. Biography of an Italian Cemetery. The Certosa of Bologna) is the result of four years of archival research on previously unpublished documents. It is the first attempt, within the framework of studies on 19th-century European cemeteries, to reconstruct in its entirety the activity of a modern necropolis, covering a period of more than a century, from its Napoleonic origins to the First World War.

More info:

Società editrice il Mulino
+39 051256011
diffusione@mulino.it
www.mulino.it