Yaarah Bar-On, "The Cemetery in the Kibbutz: Locus, Ritual and Memory of Death". Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design. Tel Aviv University.

1) Originality & innovation The project sounds original and very attractive both from the perspective of the sociological cultural processes and from the point of view of the anthropology of material and visual culture, particularly regarding the relationship between the world of the dead and that of the living. What is originally shaped and focused on is the creation of a unique form of subculture and a particular aspect of “Israeliness”. The author combines personal memoirs and socio-historical, political analysis, shaping his particular model of bricolage. 2) Project importance & implications The project is significant because of its implications in architectural and design studies and in the mourning rites ones at the same time. It considers important values like liberty, equality, collectivism and self-subsistence, that reflect the very origin of the Israeli state. As an institution, the Kibbutz cemetery suggests a balance between intimacy and collectivism, secular values and public religious rituals. It represents the liberty of expression of personal sentiments, in spite of all traditional restrictions. 3) Adequacy of methods The project adopts as qualitative as quantitative methods, a perfect guarantee of scientific correctness and of in depth research. The mapping efforts are particularly relevant. 4) Suitability of investigators’ scientific background to the project The investigators clearly indicate to master both qualitative-cultural methods and statistical ones. In addition to insightful documentation and analysis, and to a wide collection of data, they concentrate their attention to thick description and, at the same time, to model building and thin description, to produce an analytical preinvestigative empirical purview with available data apt for postgraduate students too. 5) Summary (strengths / weaknesses of the proposal) Strengths: the skillfullness in addressing and focusing the Kibbutz cemetery as a very specific kind of cultural pattern and institution. The possibility to construct new archives of data regarding this topic. The collection of data related to the diverse habitus. Weaknesses: the possibility to empirically evaluate the advantages produced from this kind of model in comparison with the traditional way. The non exportability of this model.