About the Nonprofit
End-of-Life & Death Scholars
The End-of-Life & Death Scholars (Death Scholars, Inc.) is a nonprofit organization of communication and communication-adjacent scholars focused on research related to end-of-life, death, mourning, and memorialization communication. Our mission is to foster interdisciplinary collaboration by connecting scholars whose work is often siloed by subfield divides. While we began as a predominantly U.S.-centric group, we are expanding to include international scholarship. We support professionals in end-of-life and death care, host regular online events, and maintain a growing repository of academic resources. We also provide an archive of death-related scholarship to facilitate better citational politics and acknowledge our academic inheritance. Our organization is committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion by highlighting marginalized communities and experiences.
We advocate for organizational policy changes and interventions around bereavement-related grief, striving to create a supportive environment for individuals navigating these challenging experiences. Additionally, we promote the establishment of official divisions and interest groups within academic organizations to ensure diverse representation at conferences and events.
Nonprofit
Information
The End-of-Life and Death Scholars website is operated by Death Scholars, Inc. Our organization is a registered nonprofit in the state of Kentucky, USA, connected to the Omicron Sigma Kappa honors society at Murray State University. Omicron Sigma Kappa is a student organization designed to foster leadership development and provide networking opportunities for organizational communication students.
Our leadership team is comprised of university professors, independent scholars, industry leaders, graduate students, and undergraduate students. Our membership contributes to research projects within our internal lab structure. More information about our history, leadership team, values/vision, and membership can be found below.
Topics of Interest
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Memorialization/Community Memory
- Indigenous Death and Dying
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Marginalized Death
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LGBTQIA+ Issues in Death/Dying
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Disenfranchised Grief
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Ambiguous Loss
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Rhetorics of Death
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Suicidality
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Death and Religion
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Death and Atheism/Humanism
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Performance Studies; Bereavement, Grief, Dying, and Post-Mortem
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Necropolitics
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Palliative Care
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Hospice Care
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Funeral
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Industry/Professionalization/Organization(s)
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Death Doulas
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Infant Death and Dying
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Maternal Mortality
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Technology and Death
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Social Media and Death
Methods
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Applied Research
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Archival Research
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Trends in Death/Dying - Quantitative Research
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Ethnography - Qualitative Research
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Rhetorical Approaches/Criticism - Qualitative Research
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Autoethnography - Qualitative Research
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Mixed Methods
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Critical Research
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Discourse Analysis
Our primary purposes as a nonprofit include...
1. Education and Translation
Scholars translate their end-of-life, death, and bereavement research for the general public.
2. Community Service
Support for communication (and communication-adjacent) scholars as they navigate the precarities of topics related to end-of-life, death, and bereavement.
3. Career Development
Professional development for end-of-life, death, and bereavement scholars throughout each career stage.
4. Research & Praxis
Members of the nonprofit produce research that intervenes in policies that impact people experiencing end-of-life, death, and bereavement (grief).
What sets us apart from other death-centered nonprofits?
Our embedded research labs produce peer-reviewed studies that help to communicate and shape policy that impact people, related to topical areas in end-of-life, death, and bereavement. We are communication scholars that have a focus on praxis, intervention, navigation, and policy development.
While other groups center theory, and their research is valuable for providing vital human-centered considerations (many of which we reference in our own research), we are focused on world-building and moving toward ethical/humane policy interventions.
We accomplish our research and community objectives through an internal lab structure.
Find out more here: Research Labs
Two Career Tracks Under One Roof:
Academic + Industry
Death Scholars, Inc. prepares both academic and industry professionals to engage in ethical, peer-reviewed, and collaborative research within the fields of end-of-life, death, and bereavement. For academics, we offer resources and interdisciplinary research opportunities that contribute to scholarly discussions on grief, death rituals, and end-of-life communication. We support career development in academia while also preparing scholars for roles beyond traditional university settings.
For industry professionals, we provide practical tools, training, and consultative services that translate academic research into actionable strategies. These resources help improve service delivery, emotional support, and policy implementation in fields such as medical care, funeral services, and grief counseling. Our approach equips both scholars and practitioners to make meaningful impacts in addressing the complexities of death, mourning, and end-of-life care.