Call for papers: HISTORIES OF HEALTHY AGEING
HISTORIES OF HEALTHY AGEING
University of Groningen, 21-23 June 2017
As Western populations grow increasingly older, 'healthy ageing' is
presented as one of today's greatest medical and societal challenges.
However, contrary to what many policy makers want us to believe, the
aspiration to live long, healthy and happy lives is not a problem
specific to our times. On the contrary successful ageing has a long
history.
The conference Histories of Healthy Ageing is based on the
assumption that 'healthy ageing' has informed the medical agenda since
Antiquity. With 'healthy ageing' we refer to ways of thinking about and
treating the body not only from a medical perspective, but also taking
into account questions of what constitutes a happy and fulfilled life.
In particular these latter issues were central to medicine before 1800
and relate to healthy living as much as to questions connected
specifically to old age. Thus whether we speak of classic ways of
training the athlete's body, medieval religious rites, the pre-modern
obsession with regimen (rules for living a healthy life), or the
upper-class fancy to visit spas, at the root of it all was a wish for
wellbeing, health and longevity.
The conference focuses especially (but not exclusively) on the
pre-modern period. Submissions for 20-minute papers should include a
250-word abstract and a short CV should be sent to historiesofhealthyageing@
Keynote Speakers: Elizabeth Williams, Onno van Nijf, William Maclehose, Michael Stolberg, Irena Metzler
Organisers: Rina Knoeff, Catrien Santing, James Kennaway, Ruben Verwaal, Rolf ter Sluis
For more information see: http://www.vitalmatters.nl/