Cultural Considerations on End of Life

Cultural leaders and experts engage in discussion about the role of care and education at end of life from diverse perspectives and traditions. .

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Moderator:    Dr. Maribel Alvarez, Jim Griffith Chair in Public Folklore (Southwest Center/School of Anthropology), College of Social & Behavioral Sciences, University of Arizona

Panelists:       Lynn Hourani, Muslim Community Alliance
Dr. Zhao Chen, UA College of Public Health
Dr. Gila Silverman, Case Western Reserve University’s Siegal Lifelong Learning Program

Preview the videos to be discussed.

About the Panel:
Maribel Alvarez, Humanities Scholar/ Lead Folklorist/PhD Anthropology. An anthropologist, folklorist, curator, and community arts expert, Alvarez holds the Jim Griffith Chair in Public Folklore at the University of Arizona. She teaches courses on methods of cultural analysis, with particular emphasis on objects, oral narratives, foodways, and visual cultures of the US-Mexico border. Dr. Alvarez has written and published essays about labor, intangible heritage, nonprofits and cultural policy, the theory of arts participation, artisans and patrimony in Mexico, and popular culture and stereotypes.

Dr. Zhao Chen is Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona. She is affiliated with Arizona Center on Aging, Arizona Arthritis Center, Bio5 Institute, Arizona Cancer Center and the School of Anthropology. Dr. Chen has been a funded researcher by the National Health Institute (NIH) since 1997, and has served on numerous scientific study sections for the NIH and other funding agencies nationally and internationally. The Healthy Aging Lab under her direction has been focusing on epidemiological and translational research on women’s health and aging.

Lynn Hourani is a member of the Muslim community of Tucson and is co-founder of the Muslim Community Alliance, an organization which works to bring people together, to improve lives and enrich our society. She is also serving on the Board of Directors of Southwest Folklife Alliance through which she became involved with the End of Life programs.

Dr. Gila Silverman is a cultural anthropologist, educator, and writer. She serves as the Director of Jewish Lifelong Learning at Case Western Reserve University’s Siegal Lifelong Learning Program. Gila holds a BA in Anthropology from Vassar College, and a Master’s in Public Health and a PhD in Sociocultural and Medical Anthropology, both from the University of Arizona. Much of her writing and teaching explores the intersections of religion, spirituality, and healing, with an additional focus on gender and Judaism.

This program is produced by Arizona State Museum in collaboration with the Southwest Folklife Alliance in conjunction with the exhibit, Walking Each Other Home: Cultural Practices at End of Life, on display at ASM through February 25, 2023.

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