This edited volume emerges from a seminar panel that I proposed for the 2026 annual meeting of the American Comparative Literature Association (ACLA) earlier this year. 

Volume Rationale: 

The edited volume seeks to understand the interdisciplinary field of Death Studies through the lens of decolonisation. 

Death Studies is a field of study that not only draws from a host of disciplines like anthropology, sociology, philosophy, and psychology but also cuts across fields such as bereavement studies, trauma studies, and health humanities. 

Beliefs and practices centring death and dying operate within socio-cultural contexts that are inherently intersectional. And for those whose history has been shaped by years of colonial exploitation, the contexts and infrastructures surrounding death are deeply affected by histories of violence, discrimination, and segregation. The intent of this volume is to understand how imperial history has shaped and continues to shape our responses to mortality. Pentaris et al. emphasise how imperative it is to diversify the ‘voices, methodologies, geographies, epistemologies and disciplines’ that impact death studies (2026). This volume intends to do exactly so by bringing in alternative frameworks and readings to the field of Death Studies.

As postcolonial societies continue their efforts toward decolonisation, examining how dominant colonial narratives continue to shape the understanding of death and dying becomes imperative. What does it mean to truly honour the dead? How does one discern the politics of race, death, and imperial history? And more importantly, how does one actively dismantle colonial systems and structures that have come to shape death rites and practices? Can literary, visual and other forms of cultural artefacts play a role in reconstructing and recontextualising history? The volume seeks papers which would help examine how the history of systemic oppression impacts the understanding of death, dying, and grief. 

Submissions are invited on topics including (but not limited to):

• Necropolitics and decolonisation

• Death Studies and institutionalised discrimination

• Indigenous theories and practices around death, mourning and commemoration

• Death rites and acts of resistance

• Reclaiming history through death narratives

• Alternative frameworks (pedagogic and otherwise) of engaging with the field of Death Studies

• Death Studies and the Global South

• Death, dying, and shared histories

• Challenges involved in decolonial readings of the field

Submissions from the Global South are particularly encouraged. 

Submission Guidelines:

Interested authors are requested to submit the following by May 31, 2026: 

• 300-500 word abstract of your proposed chapter

• Author-bio (250 words)

Selected authors will be notified by June 15, 2026, and will be invited to contribute a first draft of a full-length chapter by November 15, 2026. 

Full chapters: 6,000-6,500 words. 

Citation style: MLA 9th Edition

Contact Information: 

Send submissions and queries to:
Devaleena Kundu: kundudevaleena@gmail.com

About the Editor: 

Devaleena Kundu (kundudevaleena@gmail.com) is an Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Arts and Design at the South Asian University, New Delhi. As a researcher, she navigates the domains of death studies, gothic horror, and cultural criminology. She is an associate network member of DaCNet: Interdisciplinary Death & Culture Research group based at University of York and an advisory board member of the International Women’s Writing Association. She is also on the editorial board of the journal Mortality.