Center MORTALIS
Center for Interdisciplinary Research of Death, the Dead, Dying, Mourning,
and Posthumous Practices
The Center was established within the ERC project The Agency of the Dead in Contemporary Society (DEAGENCY, No. 101095729) and is the first research center of its kind in Slovenia dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of death, the dead, grief, post-mortem practices, and related topics.
Although researchers in fields such as ethnology, anthropology, sociology, history, archaeology, psychology, philosophy, and folklore studies examine these issues, their work is typically carried out within separate disciplines with limited collaboration. Research on grief in Slovenia and the wider region also lags behind developments in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Scandinavia.
Aims of Center MORTALIS
Strengthen research on death, dying, grief, post-mortem practices, and the social role of the dead.
Foster interdisciplinary collaboration and knowledge exchange among researchers from different fields.
Connect researchers with practitioners, including hospice workers, public health experts, gerontologists, and end-of-life doulas.
Establish Slovenia—and the wider region—as a hub for interdisciplinary research on these topics.
Activities of Center MORTALIS
Organizing conferences, public lectures, workshops, seminars, roundtables, reading groups, exhibitions, and other events.
Supporting collaborative research projects and grant applications.
Publishing scientific and professional works, exhibitions, and audiovisual productions to advance research and public engagement.
Working group Prehod/Passage
Prehod-Passage working group, which operates within Center MORTALIS, brings together people with professional or personal experiences with border deaths and individuals who are in contact with relatives of the missing persons.
The working group has maintained a comprehensive list of the dead and missing migrants on Slovenian borders and its territory since 2015, and we have also kept evidence of some prior cases. The list is available on demand (contact: ursula.cebronlipovec@ff.uni-lj.si ; uros@ostro.si; prehod.passage@gmail.com).
For more information, see “Prehodi/Passage working group” on website: https://etnologija.ff.uni-lj.si/en/en/project-deagency/center-mortalis