Thoughts on the DEAGENCY Conference 2025

Last summer, the second conference of the European Research Council Project DEAGENCY was held in Ljubljana. From 2 to 4 July 2025, the Faculty of Arts at the University of Ljubljana hosted the event. The DEAGENCY research project examines four post-socialist countries: Slovenia, Hungary, Slovakia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. It focuses on the role of the dead in three areas of social and cultural change and challenges faced during the post-socialist period: the political past, particularly regarding mass graves; the religious landscape; and social life in rural communities. The aim of DEAGENCY is to provide a comprehensive understanding of how the agency of the dead influences individuals’ lives. This perspective shifts from viewing the dead merely as part of “folk belief ” to recognising their agency, which impacts individuals’ bodies, ideas, and actions.