We are very happy to announce that Associate Professor Jessica Robbins (Institute of Gerontology and Department of Anthropology at Wayne State University) will talk about her recent book Aging Nationally in Contemporary Poland: Memory, Kinship, and Personhood, during the next online webinar of our Unfolding Finitudes series. Dr. Olivia Killias (University of Zürich) will act as discussant for the talk.
About the book
Active aging programs that encourage older adults to practice health- promoting behaviors are proliferating worldwide. In Poland, the meanings and ideals of these programs have become caught up in the sociocultural and political-economic changes that have occurred during the lifetimes of the oldest generations—most visibly, the transition from socialism to capitalism. Yet practices of active aging resonate with older forms of activity in late life in ways that exceed these narratives of progress. Moreover, some older Poles come to live valued, meaningful lives in old age despite the threats to respect and dignity posed by illness and debility. In Aging Nationally in Contemporary Poland: Memory, Kinship, and Personhood, Jessica C. Robbins shows through intimate portrayals of a wide range of experiences that everyday practices of remembering and relatedness shape how older Poles come to be seen by themselves and by others as living worthy, valued lives.
About Jessica Robbins
Dr. Jessica Robbins is an Associate Professor at Wayne State University’s Institute of Gerontology and Department of Anthropology. She studies how individuals’ experiences of ageing, particularly health and illness, fit into larger social, cultural, political, economic, and historical processes as a medical and sociocultural anthropologist.
Registration
Participation is free and open for all. Please register here.
The meeting link will be sent to registered participants one week before the event.