ABSTRACT
The final chapter of the volume builds on the historical experiences presented in the different chapters in order to discuss what death may look like in the foreseeable future within a global context. While acknowledging that death is culturally and socially shaped, this chapter will think through some of the main current trajectories seen in different parts of the world, such as the tension between the limitations of the human body and technological interventions in death; rapidly aging societies and how this population trend will impact how, when, and where death occurs; the intersection of biomedicine and traditional healing systems in the dying process; and how the differentiation between the living and non-living (and even human and non-human) is being altered due to medical advancements. As a whole, the volume considers death from historical perspectives, and this final chapter will give a glimpse into the future given worldwide trends. Drawing on ethnographic empirical evidence, the chapter will be somewhat speculative in its analysis of what may happen to death in the upcoming decades. It is not meant to be exhaustive or to capture all of the nuances of death around the world but rather to raise questions for further investigation.
