Social Sciences

Growing Up, Growing Old: Times and Seasons 2nd Global Meeting

Growing Up, Growing Old: Times and Seasons
2nd Global Meeting

Call for Presentations

Thursday 5th May to Saturday 7th May, 2016
Prague, Czech Republic

Since time immemorial humans have lived in close association with each other and their environment. Their success has depended on their ability to interact, to adapt and to survive. While it is fascinating to look at this from such a general and external perspective, even more exciting in many ways is to examine the individuals and groups involved and trace their development, the battles faced, the challenges which arise and the solutions derived which enable individuals to progress from birth to death. Hopefully this lifespan will be over a period of years allowing them to not only grow up but to also grow old.

This life course is one with which we are all familiar and the intent of this project is not to simply reiterate these life stages but rather to consider such aspects of them as will enable us to better understand what these basic transformations mean on both an individual and a societal level. Such basic questions which might be considered are: How do these stages differ within societies? What do childhood and adulthood really mean? Who are the elderly and what role do they play? Most importantly, are these definitions and concepts changing, and if so, what are the implications for communities? These questions themselves give rise to many others including not only historical changes but also the impact of culture, of environment, of war or famine, of violence, of knowledge and learning, of technology and communication, and especially of medical advances. Indeed, every aspect of existence may well affect the way in which we grow up and grow old.

Leading on from these ideas are other aspects which also warrant consideration, for example inter-generational aspects, psychological changes and expectations, depictions of the various life stages by the media and also artists, which may include literature, art, music, photography as well as film, theatre and television. From the diversity of topics mentioned it is apparent that there is much which could be discussed but it is hoped that at this meeting delegates will be able to focus on some of the more basic ideas mentioned with a view to developing the on-going conversation after this conference is over. Entitled "Times and Seasons", the primary concern of this conference is to consider the historical changes, the ideas behind each stage and how they differ worldwide; additionally, it seeks to commence an exploration of recent technological advances which are affecting the way our life course develops. It is particularly hoped that this project will develop over a period of years to enable us to reach a clearer understanding of something of which we are all a part, something which affects each of us, and help us to identify perspectives and changes which may improve the outlook for many. With this outcome in mind it should be remembered that in some countries there are huge cultural barriers to change, while in others change may be taken for granted and normalised through culture and traditional behavioural norms. Because of this wide variation of knowledge and practice this topic lends itself to a conference where contributions from a wide range of countries and disciplines are represented.

To explore this subject in more detail we welcome submissions which address some of the following issues or others related to them:

Life stages and culture
Childhood, youth and adulthood; definitions: perspectives from the arts and the sciences
Generations, historical and contemporary. Between generations; the generation 'gap'. Boundaries, real and perceived. Nostalgia
Who are the Elderly?
Ageing as a metaphor; the meaning of age; the meaning of life
Medical developments and interventions; biological engineering
Health, class and nationality
Demographic factors and changes
Gender, sex and shifting identities
Media impact and effect on perceptions
Literature, art, music and lifetimes
Technology and its impact
21st century issues:-
Climate change
Genetically modified foods
Energy sources
Communications
Social changes e.g. Working mothers; Care of elderly

Further details and information can be found at the conference web site:
http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/probing-the-boundaries/making-sense-of/life-cycles/call-for-presentations/

We welcome contributions from all those who have an interest in or are engaged in research into this topic, whether historically or contemporaneously. History, anthropology, medicine, social work, nursing, psychiatry, sociology, gerontology, criminology, psychology, law, literature, and cultural studies are just some of the disciplines that seek to understand this phenomenon, and this conference is designed to facilitate inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary approaches to the issues, from a range of societal settings all over the world.

Call for Cross-Over Presentations
The Growing Up Growing Old project will be meeting at the same time as a project on Cyber Security and another project on Domestic Abuse and Violence (Violence Project). We welcome submissions which cross the divide between both project areas. If you would like to be considered for a cross project session, please mark your submission "Crossover Submission".

What to Send
300 word abstracts, proposals and other forms of contribution should be submitted by Friday 27th November 2015. All submissions be minimally double reviewed, under anonymous (blind) conditions, by a global panel drawn from members of the Project Team and the Advisory Board. In practice our procedures usually entail that by the time a proposal is accepted, it will have been triple and quadruple reviewed.

You will be notified of the panel's decision by Friday 11th December 2015.
If your submission is accepted for the conference, a full draft of your contribution should be submitted by Friday 15th January 2016.

Abstracts may be in Word, RTF or Notepad formats with the following information and in this order:

a) author(s), b) affiliation as you would like it to appear in programme, c) email address, d) title of proposal, e) body of proposal, f) up to 10 keywords.
E-mails should be entitled: Growing Up Growing Old Abstract Submission

Where to Send
Abstracts should be submitted simultaneously to both Organising Chairs:

Organising Chairs:
Sheila Bibb: [email protected]
Rob Fisher: [email protected]

This event is an inclusive interdisciplinary research and publishing project. It aims to bring together people from different areas and interests to share ideas and explore various discussions which are innovative and exciting.

1 eBook and 1 paperback presently exist from the previous meeting of the Growing Up, Growing Old project. All papers accepted for and presented at the conference must be in English and will be eligible for publication in an ISBN eBook. Selected papers may be developed for publication in a themed hard copy volume(s). All publications from the conference will require editors, to be chosen from interested delegates from the conference.

Ethos
Inter-Disciplinary.Net believes it is a mark of personal courtesy and professional respect to your colleagues that all delegates should attend for the full duration of the meeting. If you are unable to make this commitment, please do not submit an abstract for presentation. Please note: Inter-Disciplinary.Net is a not-for-profit network and we are not in a position to be able to assist with conference travel or subsistence.

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Social Sciences