Death & Dying in the Middle
Ages & Renaissance

On 27 October 2001, ACMRS hosted its annual symposium at the Scottsdale Civic Center Library. Attendees had the opportunity to browse book displays from Changing Hands Bookstore and Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies, listen to speakers, and enjoy a traditional Day of the Dead lunch.

Dr. Retha Warnicke, Professor of History at Arizona State University, examined the behavior of early modern individuals during the last moments of their lives in a talk entitled "The Hour of Death." Next to speak was Dr. Philip Soergel, Associate Professor of History at Arizona State University, who discussed religious responses to the Black Death in "Art of the Good Death Revised: Saints Cults in the Wake of the Plague." Artist Fritz Scholder of Scottsdale then spoke on "Last Portraits," a discussion of death using iconography of skull images produced by the artist throughout his career. Dulce Aldama, Curatorial Specialist at the ASU Museum of Anthropology, completed the presentations with "Cuando la muerte es parte de la vida (When Death is a Part of Life): Day of the Dead in Mexico," a look at the holiday celebrated on November 1 & 2 each year. The symposium concluded with a traditional Day of the Dead lunch for anyone interested.