Wollaston Research Seminar September

Join us for the next Wollaston Research Seminar on Monday 14th September at 2pm AWST both in-person and online.

Jeremy Northcote to present: Between Life and Death: A Phenomenological and Cross‑Cultural Study of Near‑Death Experiences

Abstract: Near‑death experiences (NDEs) arise at the intersection of bodily crisis, consciousness, interpretation, and culture. They involve intense subjective states occurring under extreme physiological conditions, yet they are also shaped by symbolic repertoires and narrative frameworks, including traditional religious imagery, that give those states meaning. This presentation examines the dual structure of NDEs: their striking cross‑cultural variation in imagery and symbolism, and their deep phenomenological consistencies across traditions. It argues that NDEs accord with the staged architecture of Arnold van Gennep’s rite of passage — separation, liminality, and reincorporation — a universal pattern of transition that illuminates why NDEs feel both culturally specific and structurally familiar. The approach is situated in relation to Mircea Eliade and Victor Turner’s analyses of liminality and shamanic experience, highlighting the threshold dynamics that shape consciousness during moments of profound rupture and transformation.