Narrative Reflections: Philosophy in Literature & Film

Let's talk about death.

Join us for a loosely structured open discussion where we talk about our understanding, thoughts, fears, and experiences, among other things, in regard to death and dying.

We will be pulling questions to discuss from The Coffin Cards. The Coffin Cards is a collection of questions with the intention to reflect upon and explore our mortality and navigate grief.

Questions from The Coffin Cards include: "How can we make our society more supportive around death and grief?", "What role has art and creativity played in your grieving process?", and "What would happen if you died tomorrow?"

Please also bring any questions or discussion topics you are curious about regarding death & grief. In the past there has been great discussion brought
up from members’ questions.

This continuing event is inspired by Swiss sociologist and anthropologist Bernard Crettaz’s cafe mortel and the broader global Death Cafe movement.

Join us for a discussion on Mary Roach's book, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers.

From Goodreads: "For two thousand years, cadavers—some willingly, some unwittingly—have been involved in science’s boldest strides and weirdest undertakings. They’ve tested France’s first guillotines, ridden the NASA Space Shuttle, been crucified in a Parisian laboratory to test the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, and helped solve the mystery of TWA Flight 800. For every new surgical procedure, from heart transplants to gender confirmation surgery, cadavers have helped make history in their quiet way. Stiff investigates the strange lives of our bodies postmortem and answers the question: What should we do after we die?"

Chapters in the book include: A Head Is a Terrible Thing to Waste: Practicing surgery on the dead, Dead Man Driving: Human crash test dummies and the ghastly, necessary science of impact tolerance, How to Know if You're Dead: Beating-heart cadavers, live burial, and the scientific search for the soul, and Out of the Fire, into the Compost Bin: And other new ways to end up.

Reading is welcomed, but not required! Bring yourself and your perspectives. We won't come up with all of the answers- or maybe any at all- but we will be giving ourselves a space to talk about things we may not have the space to discuss otherwise.

This book is available for free on Hoopla through the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library as both an eBook and an audiobook. If you are in a different city, it may still be available on Hoopla.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail (1963) is one of the most important moral documents of the American 20th century, written in response to a public statement by eight white Alabama clergymen who urged King to slow down, wait, and pursue change through less “unwise and untimely” means. Composed in the margins of a newspaper while King was jailed for participating in nonviolent demonstrations, the letter offers a patient but uncompromising defense of civil disobedience, the urgency of justice, and the moral responsibility to resist unjust laws.

Join us for a close reading of this open letter and a discussion of civil disobedience in 2026. We encourage you to read this short, but dense letter (click here for reading link), which will be the focus of our discussion.