As of 1 August, Aagje Swinnen occupies a new faculty Chair with a specialised remit in Aging Studies, based at the Department of Literature and Art.
As chairholder, she will contribute to a cultural critique of the successful aging paradigm that is characteristic of Western societies, emphasising the autonomy, independence, activity, and health of individuals, and suggesting that this success can be maintained by smart consumer choices, also known as third-age lifestyles.
The research of the Chair brings to the fore the diverse ways of how people experience and understand the later stages of their life, and goes against the positioning of the most vulnerable older people as a threat to the continuation of the welfare state and as leading less worthy or less meaningful lives.
The Chair will contribute to the research programme Arts, Media, and Culture (AMC) and more particularly contribute to at least two of AMC’s foci, namely inclusive societies and engaging narratives. In addition, the research of the Chair will match with the profile and agenda of the Centre for Gender and Diversity that takes a particular interest in the intersection of gender and age, which the Chair will study from the perspective of the arts in particular.
The Faculty Board congratulates Aagje with this new step in her career and wishes her all the best in giving shape to this promising research line.
