AGING AND SOCIETY - International Interdisciplinary Conference

Aging and Society: call for papers

            In 2050, according to scientists’ expectations, 17% of world population will be people aged 65 and over. There will be twice as many elderly people as today. In the light of these predictions, it is obvious that we have to change radically our viewpoint on many aspects of life. We have to re-think our attitudes toward cultural, social, political, economic, medical, and many other dimensions of the world’s near future.

            The International Interdisciplinary Conference “Aging and Society” should become an excellent opportunity for such a reflection.  Thus, we want to describe the phenomenon of aging in its multifarious manifestations: psychological, social, historical, cultural, philosophical, religious, economic, political, and many others. We also want to devote considerable attention to how this phenomenon appears in artistic practices: literature, film, theatre or visual arts. That is why we invite researchers representing various academic disciplines: anthropology, history, psychiatry, psychology, psychoanalysis, sociology, politics, philosophy, economics, law, literary studies, theatre studies, film studies, memory studies, migration studies, consciousness studies, dream studies, gender studies, postcolonial studies, medical sciences, cognitive sciences, and urban studies, to name w few.

            Different forms of presentations are encouraged, including case studies, theoretical inquiries, problem-oriented arguments or comparative analyses.

            We will be happy to hear from both experienced scholars and young academics at the start of their careers, as well as doctoral and graduate students. We also invite all persons interested in participating in the conference as listeners, without giving a presentation.

            Our repertoire of suggested topics includes but is not restricted to:

1.      Societies:

-          Aging and social exclusion

-          Agism

-          Aging and social policy

-          Aging and urban planning

-          Aging and family relations

-          Multi-generational families

-          Great-great-grandparents and great-great-grandchildren

-          Domestic violence

-          Aging and crimes

-          Aging and law

-          Aging and politics

2.      Cultural frames of aging:

-          History of aging

-          The elderly in different parts of the world

-          Multi-Cultural aging

-          Cult of youth

-          Age and authority

-          Aging and creativity

-          The elderly and love

-          The elderly and sex

-          Aging and death

-          Aging and trauma

-          Aging and New Age

-          Aging and religions

-          Aging and spiritual life

3.      Health and Caregiving:

-          Geriatric medicine

-          Chronic disease

-          Physiology of aging

-          Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias

-          Aging and memory loss

-          Aging and depression

-          Aging and suicide

-          Euthanasia

-          Nursing homes

-          Homecare services

-          Family caregiving

-          Wellness

-          Elixirs of youth

-          Long-lived individuals

4.      Economic challenges:

-          Aging and employment

-          Economic status of the elderly

-          Aging and retirement

-          Aging and social security

-          Aging and job security

-          Aging and liberalism

-          Aging and free market

5.      Literature and the arts:

-          Literature for the elderly

-          Elderly writers

-          Elderly readers

-          Old-fashioned literary genres

-          Aging as a theme of literature, film, theatre and fine art

-          Literature and the arts against age discrimination

Please submit abstracts (no longer than 300 words) of your proposed 20-minute presentations, together with a short biographical note, by 24 September 2017 to:

agingandsociety@gmail.com