Reimagining Death: Cordelia Kennedy at TEDxOccidentalCollege

Death can be a prickly subject for many people and it can be difficult to accept it as an inescapable part of life. In this talk, Cordelia Kennedy will offer three strategies for changing people's relationship to death so that they are more comfortable talking and thinking about it. Kennedy proposes that by reimagining death, we will have no regrets when death happens.

Originally from upstate New York, Cordelia Kennedy is a senior History major with a focus on the intersection of women and health. She is completing her honors project on the 1873 federal law known as the "Comstock Act," which outlawed contraception and information pertaining to abortion as well as other materials deemed "obscene." During her years at Phillips Exeter Academy, she became deeply interested in how people give meaning to their lives at different points in time and space in relation to health and pathology. Cordelia has been volunteering with the national nonprofit organization Peer Health Exchange since 2010, which teaches health workshops in local high schools that lack health curricula. She has also interned with the American Red Cross and Planned Parenthood and plans on pursuing a career in advocacy following graduation. In her free time, Cordelia enjoys trail running, hiking, and sharing meals with friends.

About TEDx, x = independently organized event

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)