Dr Panagiotis Pentaris

Staff details

Position Director of Research and Research Studies Senior Lecturer of Social Work & Thanatology
Email Panagiotis.Pentaris (@gold.ac.uk)
Dr Panagiotis Pentaris

I have been researching and publishing about death, dying and bereavement for over 12 years, with a particular focus on the socio-political conceptions and contestations of death, as well as the intersections of religion, faith and non-belief with death and dying. My work has a wider scope and is underpinned by social work, as well as social policy foundations. I have also been researching LGBTQIA+ identities and queer necropolitics for over five years, lending practices to education and end of life care, while developing EDI strategies for Higher Education.

My work in social work has extended to commissioned work by the Government which scrutinised key areas of social work curricula, driving current changes in the field. I am an active Board member on global organisations like the ASDS, leading initiatives for the improvements in the above mentioned areas.

Academic qualifications

  • BSc Social Work 2008
  • PGCE Military Social Work 2009
  • MSW Social Work, Death and Multiculturalism 2011
  • PGDiploma Medical Psychology and Psychotherapy 2012
  • PGCE Management of Learning and Teaching in HE 2014
  • PhD, Social Policy, Thanatology, Religious Studies and Social Work 2015
  • PGDiploma Editing and Proofreading English Language 2017

Research interests

My research area of concern is thanatology, and particularly death, dying, grief and bereavement, while my research activity spans across various disciplinary and theoretical perspectives. I have, in the last five years, completed projects on the intersectionality of religion, non-religion and dying and death; death and dying in COVID-19; COVID-19 and pandemic grief; assisted suicide and assisted dying in public policy and public opinion; the role of religion and faith in social work practice; the role of religion and faith in end of life care; the representations of death and dying in animated films, and the tensions with the sociology of childhood; LGBTQ identities and social rights; the governance of dying in contemporary societies; ageing and professional practice; to name a few. My most recent monograph (due for release in November 2021) is titled Dying in a Transhumanist and Posthuman Society and a volume I recently editied, and wrote many segments of it, is titled Death, Grief and Loss in the Context of COVID-19; both published by Routledge.
My work is primarily collaborative, and I have linked my interests with colleagues – scholars and practitioners – from various fields like social work, sociology, social policy, psychology, history, music, comparative literature, nursing, counselling, politics and astronomy. I have developed, and continue to do so, a large national and international network, inclusive of individuals, groups and organisations/institutions. An example of my initiative in developing such links stems from the foundation of the Palliative Professionals Network in Cyprus, in 2018. Another example includes the forming of the International Death Scholars Network – ASDS Ambassadors – which I am chairing, on behalf of the Association for the Study of Death and Society (ASDS).

Publications and research outputs

Book

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2021. Dying in a transhumanist and posthuman society. Abingdon: Routledge. ISBN 9780367542177

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2018. Religious Literacy in Hospice Care: Challenges and Controversies. Abingdon: Routledge. ISBN 9781351103732

Edited Book

Pentaris, Panagiotis, ed. 2021. Death, grief and loss in the context of COVID-19. Abingdon: Routledge. ISBN 9780367647322

Edited Journal

Pentaris, Panagiotis and Patlamazoglou, Lefteris, eds. 2023. Bereavement in older age in LGBTIQ adults, Psychology & Sexuality, 14(4). 1941-9899

Pentaris, Panagiotis, ed. 2021. Religious Literacy in End of Life Care, Religions, . 2077-1444

Pentaris, Panagiotis and Christodoulou, Panayiota, eds. 2019. Chronic Illness and Childhood Death, Children, . 2227-9067

Pentaris, Panagiotis, ed. 2018. The Socio-Political Context of Death and Dying, Societies, . 2075-4698

Ališauskienė, Milda and Pentaris, Panagiotis, eds. 2017. Religion and Belief in the Public Sphere of Eastern Europe, Culture and Society. Journal of Social Research, 8(2). 2029-4573

Book Section

Pentaris, Panagiotis and Petricola, Mattia. 2024. Gender, Age and Identity. In: Douglas J. Davies, ed. A Cultural History of Death: Volume 6: A Cultural History of Death in the Modern Age. London: Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9781472536266

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2024. End of Life care policy in OECD nations. In: Julia Morgan and Vincent La Placa, eds. Comparative Perspectives on Health and Social Care Policy and Practice Across OECD Countries. Abingdon: Routledge.

Pentaris, Panagiotis and Petricola, Mattia. 2024. Speculative fiction and thanatological imagination: challenging the ethics of technological aliveness and (im)mortality. In: Nina Lykke; Tara Mehrabi and Marietta Radomska, eds. Routledge Handbook of Queer Death Studies. Abingdon: Routledge.

Pentaris, Panagiotis and Pitsillides, Stacey. 2024. Immortality and Transhumanist Rituals. In: , ed. Death and Bereavement Rituals in European Contexts. Congelia.

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2023. Afterword. In: Daniel Enstedt and Lisen Dellenborg, eds. Culture, Spirituality and Religious Literacy in Healthcare: Nordic Perspectives. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 232-242. ISBN 9781032320540

Neimeyer, Robert A. and Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2022. Pandemic Loss and Grief: The Case of Covid-19. In: Edith Maria Steffen; Evgenia Milman and Robert A. Neimeyer, eds. The Handbook of Grief Therapies. London: SAGE Publications, pp. 211-220. ISBN 9781529759204

Allen, Kelly-Ann; Boyle, Christopher; Sharma, Umesh; Patlamazoglou, Lefteris; Pentaris, Panagiotis; Grové, Christine; Yared, Hannah; Berger, Emily; Gamble, Nicholas; Morris, Zoe A.; Finefter-Rosenbluh, Ilana; Morgan, Michele and May, Fiona. 2022. Belonging as a Core Construct at the Heart of the Inclusion Debate, Discourse, and Practice. In: Christopher Boyle and Kelly-Ann Allen, eds. Research for Inclusive Quality Education: Leveraging Belonging, Inclusion, and Equity. Singapore: Springer, pp. 271-288. ISBN 9789811659072

Patlamazoglou, Lefteris and Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2022. LGBTQ Relationships and Sex Education for Students. In: Christopher Boyle and Kelly-Ann Allen, eds. Research for Inclusive Quality Education: Leveraging Belonging, Inclusion, and Equity. Singapore: Springer, pp. 137-147. ISBN 9789811659072

Roe, Danielle J.; Schaub, Jason; Lynn, Jessica and Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2022. Transgender, Genderqueer, and Non-Binary Identities. In: Vincent La Placa and Julia Morgan, eds. Social Science Perspectives on Global Public Health. Abingdon: Routledge. ISBN 9780367652098

Pentaris, Panagiotis and Woodthorpe, Kate. 2021. Familiarity with death. In: Panagiotis Pentaris, ed. Death, Grief and Loss in the Context of COVID-19. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 15-28. ISBN 9780367647322

Shahul-Hameed, Manju; Foster, John; Finnerty, Gina and Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2021. Impact of Covid-19 on mental health and associated losses. In: Panagiotis Pentaris, ed. Death, Grief and Loss in the Context of COVID-19. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 160-177. ISBN 9780367647322

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2020. Working with loss through the lens of culture and faith. In: Elisabeth Counselman-Carpenter and Alex Redcay, eds. Working with grief and traumatic loss: theory, practice, personal reflection, and self-care. San Diego, CA: Cognella Academic Publishing, pp. 153-157. ISBN 9781516542178

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2019. Locating death in children’s animated films. In: Adriana Teodorescu and Michael Hviid Jacobsen, eds. Death in contemporary popular culture. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 175-191. ISBN 9780367185855

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2019. Religion, belief, and spirituality in health care. In: Sarah Gehlert and Teri Browne, eds. Handbook of Health Social Work. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, pp. 279-302. ISBN 9781119420729

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2015. Culture and the Social Reality of Death: The Afghan Experience. In: Katarzyna Malecka and Rossanna Gibbs, eds. And Death shall have Dominion: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Dying, Caregivers, Death, Mourning and the Bereaved. Freeland, Oxfordshire: Inter-Diciplinary Press, pp. 1-9. ISBN 9781848884182

Article

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2023. Ageing and loss attitudes of social work students: a cross-sectional study. Social Work Education, ISSN 0261-5479

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2023. El impacto del COVID-19 en la muerte y el duelo. RIO: International Journal of Organizations(30), pp. 13-26. ISSN 2013-570X

Pentaris, Panagiotis; Patlamazoglou, Lefteris and Schaub, Jason. 2023. The role of faith in the experience of grief among sexually diverse individuals: a systematic review. Psychology & Sexuality, 14(4), pp. 640-656. ISSN 1941-9899

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2023. Integrating religion and belief in social work practice: an exploratory study. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 32(1), pp. 33-45. ISSN 1531-3204

Pentaris, Panagiotis and Patlamazoglou, Lefteris. 2023. Bereavement in older age in LGBTIQ adults. Psychology & Sexuality, 14(4), pp. 593-595. ISSN 1941-9899

Pentaris, Panagiotis and Jacobs, Lucy. 2022. UK public's views and perceptions about the legalisation of assisted dying and assisted suicide. OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying, 86(1), pp. 203-217. ISSN 0030-2228

Pentaris, Panagiotis; Christodoulou, Panayiota; Erotocritou, Koulla; Parlalis, Stavros; Hadjiharalambous, Demetris and Hanna, Sue. 2022. Integrating the Global Agenda of Social Work and Social Development in the Republic of Cyprus. Practice: Social Work in Action, ISSN 0950-3153

Pentaris, Panagiotis; Raja, Mariam; Hanna, Sue and Oresanya, Abiola. 2022. Recentring anti-racist practice in social work education and training in England: a qualitative study. Critical and Radical Social Work, 10(2), pp. 335-350. ISSN 2049-8608

Pentaris, Panagiotis and Tripathi, Khyati. 2022. Palliative Professionals’ Views on the Importance of Religion, Belief, and Spiritual Identities toward the End of Life. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(10), ISSN 1660-4601

Pentaris, Panagiotis and Oresanya, Abiola. 2021. Child protection vocabulary in the Children Act 1989: power, ambiguity and heterogeneity. Greenwich Social Work Review, 2(2), pp. 181-191. ISSN 2633-4313

Pentaris, Panagiotis and Christodoulou, Panayiota. 2021. Qualities of culturally and religiously sensitive practice: a cross-sectional study. Journal of Palliative Care, ISSN 0825-8597

Jacobs, Lucy and Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2021. Factors affecting the help-seeking behaviour of Black Asian minority ethnic (BAME) groups for mental health services in the UK: A literature review. Greenwich Social Work Review, 2(1), pp. 156-170. ISSN 2633-4313

Pentaris, Panagiotis and Christodoulou, Panayiota. 2021. Knowledge and attitudes of hospice and palliative care professionals toward diversity and religious literacy in Cyprus: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 24(2), pp. 233-239. ISSN 1096-6218

Pentaris, Panagiotis and Tripathi, Khyati. 2020. Religious/spiritual referrals in hospice and palliative care. Religions, 11(10), 496. ISSN 2077-1444

Pentaris, Panagiotis and Thomsen, Louise L. 2020. Cultural and Religious Diversity in Hospice and Palliative Care: A Qualitative Cross-Country Comparative Analysis of the Challenges of Health-Care Professionals. OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying, 81(4), pp. 648-669. ISSN 0030-2228

Pentaris, Panagiotis and Yerosimou, Maria. 2020. The role of background music in the experience of watching YouTube videos about death and dying. Journal of Education, Culture and Society, 2015(2), pp. 305-319. ISSN 2081-1640

Pentaris, Panagiotis; Willis, Paul; Ray, Mo; Deusdad, Blanca; Lonbay, Sarah; Niemi, Mia and Donnelly, Sarah. 2020. Older people in the context of COVID-19: A European perspective. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 63(8), pp. 736-742. ISSN 0163-4372

Pentaris, Panagiotis and Mehmet, Nevin. 2019. Attitudes and perceptions of paramedics about end-of-life care: a literature review. Journal of Paramedic Practice, 11(5), pp. 206-215. ISSN 1759-1376

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2019. A constructive analysis of the formation of LGBTQ families: Where Utopia and Reality meet. International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 13(1), pp. 60-65. ISSN 2070-3783

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2018. The cultural context of dying: Hawai’ian death conceptions and the gender divide. Asia Pacific Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 6(4), pp. 104-111. ISSN 2350-7756

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2018. Negotiating belief in health and social care. International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare, 11(2), pp. 81-82. ISSN 2056-4902

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2018. The marginalization of religion in End of Life Care: signs of microaggression? International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare, 11(2), pp. 116-128. ISSN 2056-4902

Pentaris, Panagiotis; Papadatou, Danai; Jones Bartoli, Alice and Hosang, Georgina M.. 2018. Palliative care professionals’ perceptions of barriers and challenges to accessing children’s hospice and palliative care services in South East London: A preliminary study. Death Studies, 42(10), pp. 649-657. ISSN 0748-1187

Ališauskienė, Milda and Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2017. Religion and belief in Eastern Europe: Preface. Culture and Society. Journal of Social Research, 8(2), pp. 10-12. ISSN 2029-4573

Lazaridou, Asimina and Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2016. Mindfulness and spirituality: therapeutic perspectives. Person-Centered & Experiential Psychotherapies, 15(3), pp. 235-244. ISSN 1477-9757

Skaife, Sally; Jones, Kevin and Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2016. The impact of the Art Therapy Large Group, an educational tool in the training of art therapists, on post-qualification professional practice. International Journal of Art Therapy, 21(1), pp. 23-34. ISSN 1745-4832

Pentaris, Panagiotis and Yerosimou, Maria. 2014. The Functional Role of Music in Communicating Death through/in YouTube Videos. Journal of Education Culture and Society, 5(1), pp. 206-217. ISSN 2081-164

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2014. Memorial video tribute and the enfranchised grief of a gay widower. Thanatos, 3, pp. 31-44. ISSN 2242-6280

Pentaris, Panagiotis and Stacey, Timothy. 2014. Believing in Belonging: Belief & Social Identity in the Modern World (Book Review). Journal of Contemporary Religion, 29(3), pp. 567-569. ISSN 1353-7903

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2014. Religion, Secularism, and Professional Practice. Studia Sociologica, 6(1), pp. 99-109. ISSN 2081-6642

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2014. Religious understandings of a good death in hospice palliative care (Book Review). Mortality: Promoting the interdisciplinary study of death and dying, 19(3), pp. 320-321. ISSN 1357-6275

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2013. Health Care Practitioners and Dying Patients: Challenges in a Secular Society. Journal of Education, Culture and Society, 4(1), pp. 38-47. ISSN 2081-1640

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2013. A kultúra és a halál társadalmi valósága: az afganisztáni tapasztalat [Culture and the Social Reality of Death: the Afghani Experience]. Kharón Thanatológiai Szemle, 17(3), pp. 13-27. ISSN 2060-8616

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2012. Religious Competence in Social Work Practice: the UK picture. Social Work & Society, 10(2), pp. 1-5.

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2012. Death in the Modern Greek Culture. Hawaii Pacific Journal of Social Work Practice, 5(1), pp. 126-131.

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2011. Culture and Death: A Multicultural Perspective. Hawaii Pacific Journal of Social Work Practice, 4(1), pp. 45-84.

Conference or Workshop Item

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2019. 'The role of belief in dying'. In: 41st Annual Conference Association for Death Education and Counselling. Altanta, GA, United States 9-13 April 2019.

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2016. 'Religion & belief in hospice social work: Religious dying & secular social work practice in hospice care'. In: Death, Dying and Social Work. University of Sussex, United Kingdom 6 September 2016.

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2016. 'Constructing end of life care: Is religion a problem or a solution?'. In: British Sociological Association Sociology of Religion Study Group Annual Conference 2016. Lancaster University, United Kingdom 12-14 July 2016.

Pentaris, Panagiotis and Stacey, Timothy. 2014. 'From Religious Death to Religious Health: the Sacred and the Secular Reinstated'. In: ESA Sociology of Religion 'Religion in the Public Domain'. Ireland.

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2014. 'Religious Literacy in Palliative Care'. In: 13th Annual Kaleidoscope - International Conference on Palliative Care. Belfast, Ireland.

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2013. 'Health Care Practitioners and Dying Patients: Challenges of a Secular Society'. In: 2nd Symposium of Social Sciences in Eastern Europe. Wroclaw, Poland.

Report

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2023. Οικογένειες με ΛΟΑΤΚΙ+ γονείς: Σύντομη Αναφορά Κοινωνικής Πολιτικής. Other. Goldsmiths, University of London/Οικογένειες Ουράνιο Τόξο.

Pentaris, Panagiotis; Evans, David; Hockham, David; Yau, Carmen; Dudley, Alan; Matthews, Kasandra and Hassan, Rania. 2022. LGBT+ Culture in Higher Education. Project Report. University of Greenwich, London.

Pentaris, Panagiotis; Raja, Mariam; Hanna, Susan and Oresanya, Abiola. 2021. Social work education and training in England in 2020-21: attitudes, perceptions and experiences about the specialist regulator, COVID-19 experiences and responses, and equality, diversity and inclusion. Technical Report. Social Work England, Sheffield.

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2014. Loss & Grief Initiatives. Other. Bereavement Network, Hawaii.

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2013. European Return Fund: Assisted Voluntary Returns and Reintegration Programme. Other. International Organization for Migration, Greece.

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2012. Assisted Voluntary Returns & Reintegration for Third-Country Nationals. Other. International Organization for Migration (IOM), Belgium & Greece.

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2012. European Return Fund: Assisted Voluntary Returns and Reintegration Programme. Other. International Organization for Migration (IOM), Greece.

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2012. Reintegration Assistance Project Evaluation. Other. International Organization for Migration (IOM), Greece.

Thesis

Pentaris, Panagiotis. 2016. Religious Literacy in End of Life Care: Challenges and Controversies. Doctoral thesis, Goldsmiths, University of London

Further profile content

Goldsmiths Research Centres/Groups

Director of Research and Research Studies - MA Social Work Convenor

I am available to accept PhD students interested in death studies, (non)religion, disaster and comparative social work, or social justice issues.

Articles related to Dr Panagiotis Pentaris