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Dementia Lifeworlds Symposium
The first Dementia Lifeworlds Symposium took place on Wednesday 29th November at UCC and was an occasion for the research project team to bring ideas on the table, to explore and establish common ground, and to share interests and ideas.
Symposium Background
Dementia Lifeworlds is a transdisciplinary working group, at present comprising Prof. Kieran Keohane, Sociology & Criminology; Prof. Maggie O’Neill, Collective Social Futures; Prof. Aideen Sullivan, Future Ageing & Brain Health; Prof. Deirdre Madden, (Law); Prof Nicola Corneally (Nursing); Prof. Des Fitzgerald (Radical Humanities Laboratory); Dr Emma Gleeson (Clinical Therapies), Dr Emma O’Shea (Psychology) and Dr Isobel Ni Riain (Ionad na Gaeilge Labhartha). Our symposium provided an occasion for this diverse group to put our ideas on the table, to share and explore with one another and with a view to reaching out to other colleagues as our project develops.
The symposium began with a roundtable conversation on the ‘Margo case’, a famous debate in the annals of dementia and jurisprudence on the moral and practical dilemmas associated with ‘Advance Care Directives’ (whereby people with dementia make directives in advance on the medical interventions that they wish [or do not wish] for) with each of the collaborators addressing / approaching / offering a perspective on that debate from the point of view of our various interests.
The roundtable conversation was followed by a presentation by Professor Joanna Latimer, University of York, entitled: “(Re)situating Dementia: Philosophy, Biomedicine, Politics, Society.” Professor Latimer’s presentation examined how dementia is being co-fabricated by biomedicine, culture, and the politics of health and care; reflecting on what is good as well as what is problematic in terms of how people and their families as well as communities and health and social care practitioners experience and approach dementia; then moving on to think about how alternative imaginaries can/are refabricating dementia and consider their implications for the future of dementia biomedicine and care.
Dementia Lifeworlds will organize a follow up Workshop in the New Year to build on the symposium, developing and consolidating the research project.
Cover picture contains a slide from Professor Joanna Latimer's presentation.
For more information about this research project please visit Dementia Lifeworlds