Rate My Professor Cindy Stocken

Cindy Lauren Stocken is a PhD candidate in Anthropology at the University of Melbourne's School of Social and Political Sciences, Faculty of Arts. Her thesis, "Saying Goodbye: A study of Living Funerals," aims to describe and investigate living funerals, the ritualised gathering of people in a celebration of life event before their death. These events, known by various names, involve hosting one's own funeral prior to dying, and have increased in popularity over the past 10 years, particularly as media shares stories of their playful creativity. The project explores ritual creativity, changes in death and funerary practices, and why individuals choose these rites. Stocken's research interests include death studies and ritual studies, building on her previous work with alternative deathcare workers.

Stocken is a PhD student in the DeathTech Research Team, studying the intersection of death, technology, and society, with a focus on living funerals and emerging global rituals, including choices around marking bereavement, participant involvement, creative processes, and responses to newly created rituals. She contributes to the Critical Ethnography Lab. As Chair of the Australian Network of Student Anthropologists, she connects students and early-career researchers across institutions. She brings experience from prior careers in travel, learning and development, brand development, and small business founding. In 2022, she received the Australian Death Studies Society award for 'Permission', Chapter 1 of “Meaningful moments.” She co-authored "Synthetic AI data can't always explain the 'messy realities of people's lives'" in Pursuit by the University of Melbourne (November 18, 2025).