This podcast explores death and law from a rich variety of disciplinary perspectives, including law, anthropology and philosophy. It also explores such issues as buried goods, data protection, dignity and memory.
This podcast forms part of a broader project in the University of Aberdeen's School of Law entitled, 'Death and Law – Interdisciplinary Explorations' and is generally sponsored by the Aberdeen Humanities Fund Staff Research Award 2024.
Death and Law Podcast Episodes
- Episode 1
-
Abstract
This podcast is concerned with the legal, moral and social status of human remains in a variety of different contexts. We begin with a discussion of interred human remains, the right of sepulchre (or burial), and the criminal offence of violation of sepulchres in Scotland. We then move on to discuss human remains which ought to have been buried but were not. For this part of the podcast, we are joined by Dr Thomas Muinzer, whose research covers burial law and laws relating to human remains, to discuss the case of Charles Byrne. We then move on to discuss the treatment of human remains in hospital or morgue settings, as well as in museums or collections once they have been excavated from the ground. For this part of the podcast we are joined by Professor Vikki Entwistle, to discuss whether a deceased person can be said to suffer harm when their remains are treated disrespectfully.
Transcript