The Sociology of Death and Livability Working Group brings together graduate students and faculty at Columbia (and hopefully beyond) working on death, dying, debility, and the social conditions that make life livable or unlivable. We meet regularly to workshop papers, discuss readings, and host outside speakers.
For the 2026-2027 academic year, we plan to host discussions of readings listed on the Schedule page. If you’d like to be included, you can join our email list by emailing [email protected]. Scholars at Columbia or elsewhere are welcome to participate.
If you have a work in progress related to any of the topics we discuss that you would like feedback on, we would love to host it for you. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, disability/debility, necropolitics, biopolitics, death rituals, mourning, bare life, hospice care, death positivity, femicide, infanticide, and dehumanization.