Colloquium: July 20 at 2:00pm-4pm – Fellows & External Fellows Only
- This event has passed.
July 20, 2021 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Topic: Old Folks at Home?: Re imagining Old Age in a Post Pandemic World
Chair: Magdalena Redekop
This colloquium is intended to provide an opportunity to follow up on the talk by William Reichmann about new developments in elder care. There was no time that day to have a discussion amongst ourselves. Dr. Reichmann’s account of the new technology was very positive, but many of us may not live long enough to see these advances happen. One colleague spoke of having recently needed an x ray at four a.m. and asked Dr. Reichmann how long we would have to wait for the community urgent care centres that he promised are coming. Indirectly she made an eloquent point–that these are not only academic questions for us. Many of us are uneasy about technological surveillance within a paternalistic model of health care. Dr. Reichmann stressed the importance of individual autonomy, but when the realities of political barriers are set aside, then a celebration of technology is premature. How many of us would agree to surveillance of how long we take to shower, an example that Dr. Reichmann mentioned in passing. For us such questions are both personal and academic. All of us in Senior College are constantly having to make practical decisions about living arrangements and health care amidst circumstances that can change utterly with a single stroke–using that term both metaphorically and literally. At the same time, all of the issues are illuminated in different ways from the perspectives of our various disciplines: medical, legal, political, historical, literary, etc. The readings for this colloquium are based on groundwork laid out by Andrea Charise and are intended to facilitate a conversation about how we might re imagine our old age. Her research goals are positive in a ways that do not depend on new technology but are based on mutual aid and imagination. For example, is there a way we can work together to re imagine our old age in a way that would provide us more mutual support as we age together? Does Professor Charise’s approach to storytelling and old age suggest some possibilities for new directions that Senior College might pursue? How might we work together to counter the dominant narrative that results in the pervasive ageism that we all experience? The readings listed below are only a beginning–a kind of sour dough starter. Participants are encouraged to share their personal experiences and to suggest additional readings and resources.
l. Rewriting aging: In conversation with Dr. Andrea Charise
2. The Future is Certain: A manifesto by Andrea Charise
3. It’s time to rethink long term care for seniors: Aldred Neufeldt
4. Neglected No More Andre Picard
http://ageculturehumanities.org/WP/the-future-is-certain-manifesting-age-culture-humanities/
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/669793/neglected-no-more-by-andre-picard/9780735282247
The link to register is https://forms.office.com/r/tjyzubjV7W
The deadline to register is the morning of the talk at 8:00am. The Zoom link will be sent to registrants only on the morning of the event.