2022 AAGE Conference

The Association for Anthropology, Gerontology and the Lifecourse (AAGE,http://anthropologyandgerontology.com/), is an independent professional organization with an international membership of over 200 anthropologists and others who approach  research on aging and the life course from an anthropological perspective. Members are from Asia, Latin America, the U.S., Europe, and Africa, and many have strong ties to the Society for Applied Anthropology, the American Anthropological Association (through its interest group, Anthropology of Aging and the Life Course), the European Association of Social Anthropologists (through AGENET, the Age and Generations Network), and the Gerontological Society of America. AAGE sponsors a conference every two years on central aspects of aging, families, and adaptation to change over time. 

This year, AAGE 2022: Creativity and Aging draws our attention to creativity—of ourselves as researchers and of those with whom we work—and the moment’s potential for aging and the life course as a result of that creative engagement. While this orientation tends toward optimism and possibility, it is not naïve; it implores us to situate creativity, to recognize the structures and strictures that often make such creative responses necessary, and to acknowledge the power differentials in how those responses are able to manifest in the world. As we lean into the future, the focus on creativity and aging also reminds us to ground that future in a present and past and to consider the continuities even in the midst of rupture. In this, AAGE 2022 embraces the practical hopefulness of radical change.

AAGE 2022 is taking place as a leisurely virtual conference, with an opening weekend July 16-17, and sessions on July 22, August 5, and August 12-13.  Presentations include papers, panels, roundtables, and other creative formats (e.g., film, multimedia, fiction) that explore creativity and aging in its myriad forms.  Sessions will focus on policies and programs supporting aging, research methods, artistic engagements with aging, innovative presentation modalities, and the role of creativity in promoting wellbeing over time. With its focus on creativity and caring, generativity and activism, there is something in this conference for every anthropologist interested older adults, family, and community in a changing world. 

The conference program, including dates, times, and presentation details, can be found here: https://anthropologyandgerontology.com/conferences/aage-2022-creativity-and-aging/aage-2022-conference-program/.

You can register for AAGE 2022: Creativity and Aging, by clicking on the following link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScIaP39Obm09toNZGZhMpJpN7CDkUnSUL9pqTR80HAet12CgQ/viewform. A $10.00 registration fee covers every session. It’s a bargain. We hope you take advantage of it. 

While you are at it—consider joining AAGE! You will find that the benefits of membership are great, and the cost is modest. We are an enthusiastic and welcoming group of faculty, students and professionals working across the aging spectrum. And perhaps best of all, AAGE members have found innovative work opportunities in aging related fields, at a time when the aging bulge is just beginning. Join AAGE and find out for yourselves!