Death Cafes (DCs) explicitly encourage conversation and constitute space to explore the dialogue around death and dying. This study draws on scholarship from communication and dialogue theory to explore the design features and facilitation practices used within DC meetings. Through qualitative analysis of the DC webpage and interviews with facilitators, the study uncovers how DC facilitators structure and manage conversations to help attendees normalize death conversations and manage the death anxiety of others in their lives. The analysis highlights three main tensions within the DC structure and facilitation guidelines: structure versus openness, authority versus equality, and conversation versus information. These fundamental contradictions are inherent in DCs, and facilitators need to manage them in order to promote meaningful dialogue among DC participants. This study deepens the theorizing around DC facilitation practices and has implications for death and dying practitioners hoping to foster dialogue about end-of-life topics.

中文翻译：

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“谈论葬礼不会让你死”：死亡咖啡馆设计和便利化中的对话张力


死亡咖啡馆（DC）明确鼓励对话，并提供空间来探索围绕死亡和临终的对话。本研究借鉴沟通和对话理论的学术成果，探讨 DC 会议中使用的设计特征和促进实践。通过对 DC 网页的定性分析和对协调员的采访，该研究揭示了 DC 协调员如何构建和管理对话，以帮助参与者使死亡对话正常化并管理生活中其他人的死亡焦虑。该分析强调了 DC 结构和便利化指南中的三个主要矛盾：结构与开放、权威与平等以及对话与信息。这些基本矛盾是 DC 所固有的，协调者需要管理这些矛盾，以促进 DC 参与者之间有意义的对话。这项研究深化了有关 DC 促进实践的理论，并对希望促进有关临终主题对话的死亡和临终从业者具有影响。