Curriculum

Selected Publications

Scalici, G. (2024). Pain, Play and Music: Death and Healing Rites among the Wana. London: Bloomsbury.
Scalici, G. (2025). “Shaman King: Shamanism, Ecology and Death according to Hiroyuki Takei.” In Anime, Religion, and Theology. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
Scalici, G. (2023). “Dead, Half-Dead, and Undead: What Three Different Cultures Can Teach Us About the Human Relationship with Death.” In Touching the Beyond. Padua: Padova University Press.
Scalici, G. (2023). “The Musical Instruments of Wana Tradition (Indonesia).” Etnografie Sonore | Sound Ethnographies.
Stizzi, A., Negrola, E., Iacona, E., Naglieri, M., Scalici, G., & Testoni, I. (2022). “Reconstructing Social Relationships in a Post-Lockdown Suburban Area Through Pastoral Counselling.” Pastoral Psychology.
Scalici, G. (2022). “Who Framed Tetebua?” In Patterns of Change in the Traditional Music of Southeast Asia. Udine: Nota.
Scalici, G. (2020). “Marginalized Centre: Wana People and the Geography of Power.” JISASR & JBASR.
Scalici, G. (2019). “Music and the Invisible World: Music as a Bridge Between Different Realms.” Approaches: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Music Therapy.
Scalici, G. (2017). “Eating Together to Grieve Together: The Funeral Meal of the Wana People of Morowali.” FEAST Journal.
Scalici, G. (2019). Healing the Individual, Healing the Community: Shamanic Rituals and Funerals of the Wana People of Morowali. Doctoral thesis, Durham University.

Research Profile

Anthropologist of religion and ethnomusicologist specialising in death studies, ritual, and religious diversity. My research explores how people experience death, healing, and spirituality across cultural and institutional contexts—from Indigenous communities in Indonesia to religious minorities in contemporary Italy. Combining ethnography, sound studies, and legal anthropology, my work contributes to interdisciplinary debates on ritual, identity, and human rights at the end of life.

Main Research Interests

Anthropology of religion and ritual
Death studies and funerary practices
Religious minorities and human rights
Shamanism and Indigenous cosmologies (Sulawesi, Indonesia)
Religion and popular culture (comics, video games)
Anthropology of music and sound
Methodologies in ethnography and decolonial research

Current Positions

Research Fellow, University of Palermo – Project “Rural Commons of Italy (Ru.Com Italy)” (2024–2026)
Series Editor, Death in a Chocolate Box, M&J Publishing (2025–present)
President, Italian Network on Death and Oblivion (NIMO) (2023–present)
Membership Secretary, Association for the Study of Death and Society (ASDS, UK) (2019–present)

Education

PhD in Anthropology of Religion – Durham University, UK (2014–2019)
Thesis: Healing the Individual, Healing the Community: Shamanic Rituals and Funerals of the Wana People of Morowali
Supervisors: Prof. Douglas J. Davies & Dr. Simon Mills. Funded by AHRC Northern Bridge DTP.
MA in Ethnomusicology – University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Italy (2009–2013)
Final grade: 110/110 cum laude. Recipient of “Wanted the Best” Scholarship.
BA in Music Studies – University of Palermo, Italy (2005–2009)
Final grade: 110/110.

Conference Organisation and Panels

2026 — 3rd NIMO Conference, Turin, Italy (May). Lead Organiser.
2026 — Mors tua, thesis mea, Palermo, Italy (20–22 March). Lead Organiser.
2025 — Hope, Despair, and Desire at the End of Life: Anthropological Perspectives, University of Basilicata (25–27 September). Panel Convenor.
2025 — Ethnographies of Death and Grief, University of Trento (10–12 July). Panel Convenor.
2025 — Commons, Biodiversity and Territories of Life, Geraci Siculo (19–20 July). Co-Organiser.
2025 — Law 168: Opportunities and Implementation Pathways, Geraci Siculo (24 May). Co-Organiser.
2025 — 2nd NIMO Conference, Palermo (2–4 May). Lead Organiser.
2024 — 1st NIMO Conference, Online (23–24 March). Lead Organiser.
2023 — Death, Dying and Disposal 16 (DDD16), University of Padua (7–9 September). Organising Committee Member.
2023 — 1st Symposium on Freedom of Religious Expression in Death (FRED), University of Rome “La Sapienza” (18–19 September). Lead Organiser.
2023 — Making Inclusive Memories: Spaces, Places, Symbols, Lampedusa (April). Co-Organiser.
2021 — The Healing and Emotional Power of Music and Dance, NOVA University Lisbon (20–21 May). Co-Organiser.
2021 — Music, Mortality, and Ritual, Durham University (15 May). Co-Organiser.

Prizes, Grants, and Fellowships

2023 – Be-For-ERC Fellowship, University of Rome “La Sapienza” (€50,000).
2015–2018 – AHRC Northern Bridge Doctoral Training Partnership, Durham University, UK.
2011 – Darmasiswa Scholarship, Government of Indonesia.
2010 – “Wanted the Best” Scholarship, University of Rome “La Sapienza”.

Public Outreach and Cultural Engagement

Radici di Sicilia Project (Palermo, 2025–2026) — Series of public meetings with minority communities on religion, funerary practices, and coexistence.
Public Lectures — Anthropology of Religion: From the Indonesian Jungle to Italy’s Religious Minorities, Feltrinelli Verona (24 June 2025); Death in Children’s Books, Feltrinelli Verona (7 June 2025).
Performance — Tendebomba: Music and Stories from the Jungle, Cinematocasa Palermo (8 July 2023).
Digital Humanities — Creator of an interactive digital map of roadside memorials in Palermo.

Languages

Italian – Native
English – Fluent (C2)
Portuguese – Intermediate (B1)
Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) – Intermediate (B1)
Spanish – Basic (A2)