Since our last post we’ve been busy with Stage 3 of our project. We’ve held all of our initial online workshops and have recruited a Performance Group to work with us and Active Inquiry in creating narratives about older age and the future. As well as having a lot of fun and getting to know … Continue reading Forum Theatre: Augusto Boal and Theatre of the Oppressed
New Year 2021 update
A year ago we were only just starting on this project. We were planning my trip to the Mass Observation Archive in Brighton and considering the logistics of our intergenerational reading groups. Fast forward a year and so much has happened. We were fortunate to continue our research in the context of Covid-19 by moving … Continue reading New Year 2021 update
The Last Children of Tokyo by Yoko Tawada
All of our intergenerational online reading groups chose to read Yoko Tawada’s The Last Children of Tokyo (first published in Japan in 2014 and in the UK in 2018). This post will consider the groups’ reactions to the book, the vision of the future presented and their thoughts on intergenerational relationships and longevity. In the Guardian John Self describes The … Continue reading The Last Children of Tokyo by Yoko Tawada
Mass Observation and Climate Change
Back in March, near the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, when countries began to lock-down, one of the themes that was dominant in the media was the idea that the world was slowing down and healing as carbon emissions declined and air pollution dramatically improved around the globe. While people stayed at home nature was … Continue reading Mass Observation and Climate Change
Trouble With Lichen by John Wyndham
In July we completed the second round of our intergenerational online reading group discussions. Three of the groups have now read John Wyndham’s Trouble With Lichen (1960). In this post I’ll give you an idea of what the groups thought of the themes which arose in this book and how this influenced broader discussions of older age and … Continue reading Trouble With Lichen by John Wyndham
Moving Online
Back in January when we started this project we could never have envisaged that there would be a global pandemic by March. The virus, lockdown and social distancing continue to have profound consequences on people’s everyday lives, their jobs and social relationships. In addition, many have lost people they love. The number of deaths at … Continue reading Moving Online
Mass Observing at The Keep in Brighton
The main aim of our project ‘Reimagining the Future in Older Age’ is to explore the relationship between age and future time. The project has three stages, the first of which is to understand existing narratives of future time in older age by conducting a secondary analysis of responses to Mass Observation directives concerning time … Continue reading Mass Observing at The Keep in Brighton