Department Head Brstilo Lovrić and Assist. Prof. Mravunac Deliver Lecture on the Sociology of Death at the Academy of Music

On Monday, 20 April 2026, Assoc. Prof. Ivana Brstilo Lovrić, PhD, Head of the University Department of Sociology, and Assist. Prof. Damir Mravunac, PhD, delivered a lecture at the Academy of Music, University of Zagreb. The lecture, titled “Society and Death: Essays from the Sociology of Death in Traditional, Modern and Postmodern Society,” was held at the invitation of Assist. Prof. Jelka Vukobratović, PhD, Head of the Department of Musicology.

The lecture formed part of the series “Requiem on Death: Scientific and Artistic Approaches,” organized in preparation for the performance of Requiem in D minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The unfinished nature of this composition opened space for broader reflection on death, its socio-cultural dimensions, and the role of music and art in processes of coping and mourning.

The sociological presentation demonstrated how societal attitudes toward death have changed throughout history—from the traditional “tamed death,” marked by community, religious rituals, and open acceptance; through the modern “controlled death,” characterized by medicalization, institutionalization, and taboo; to postmodern approaches that emphasize individualization, ecological awareness, and new forms of ritual.

Particular attention was given to contemporary transhumanist attempts to technologically overcome death, along with examples of the digitalization of death in cyberspace. Empirical findings further confirm a shift from the collective experience of death toward increasing individualization and social isolation, accompanied by a growing need to redefine the meaning of death in contemporary society.