Interdisciplinary

Theorizing Fortitude: Perspectives from GSA’s Arts, Humanities, and Cultural Gerontology Advisory Panel

Chair(s)

• 

  Sarah McKiddy, PhD Candidate (she/her/hers)

  Research Coordinator
  School of Nursing
  University of Washington
  Seattle, Washington, United States

  Slides

Co-Chair(s)

• KR

  Katherine Ritchey, DO, MPH (she/her/hers)

  Clinical Assistant Professor
  Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center
  VA Puget Sound Healthcare System
  Seattle, Washington, United States

Discussant(s)

• 

  Ulla Kriebernegg, MA, PhD (she/her/hers)

  Full Professor
  Center fot Interdisciplinary Research on Aging and Care
  University of Graz
  Graz, Steiermark, Austria

Individual Symposium Abstract First Author(s)

• 

  Sarah McKiddy, PhD Candidate (she/her/hers)

  Research Coordinator
  School of Nursing
  University of Washington
  Seattle, Washington, United States

  Slides
• 

  Aaron Colverson, PhD (he/him/his)

  Postdoctoral Fellow
  Neurology
  University of California San Francisco
  San Francisco, California, United States
• NW

  Nicolai Wohns, MD (he/him/his)

  Doctoral student
  Philosophy
  University of Washington
  Seattle, Washington, United States
• KR

  Kristoffer Rhoads, PhD (he/him/his)

  Professor, Department of Neurology
  Neurology
  University of Washington School of Medicine
  Seattle, Washington, United States
• 

  Eva-Maria Trinkaus, Dr. (she/her/hers)

  Senior Scientist
  Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Aging and Care
  University of Klagenfurt, Austria
  Klagenfurt, Karnten, Austria

This symposium explores the impact of arts and humanities on cultural narratives of aging. Through the lens of theory-based examples, the authors argue for reaching beyond orthodox engines of gerontological exploration, such as medical research and the social sciences, to develop a more nuanced gerontology. However, moving beyond the arts-as-intervention model is not without pitfalls. Here, theoretical explorations challenge conventional ways of knowing by offering new insights into how cultural narratives of aging can be interpreted and shaped through the lens of the arts and humanities from a theoretical standpoint. Ultimately, the symposium suggests that fortitude, that is, courage in the face of adversity, resonates both as we travel through life facing our own challenges, and as the field of gerontology seeks to understand diverse human experiences of aging.

Presentations:

• 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM PST

  Aesthetic Pathways in Gerotranscendence
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Sarah McKiddy, PhD Candidate (she/her/hers) – University of Washington
• 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM PST

  Conceptualizing a Neuro-Ethnomusicology of Aging
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Aaron Colverson, PhD (he/him/his) – University of California San Francisco
• 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM PST

  Fortitude and the Moral Good of Aging
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Nicolai Wohns, MD (he/him/his) – University of Washington
• 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM PST

  Theorizing Fortitude: Mindfulness
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Kristoffer Rhoads, PhD (he/him/his) – University of Washington School of Medicine
• 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM PST

  Theorizing Fortitude, Friendship, and Old Age in Lore Segal's Short Story Cycle "Ladies Lunch"
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Eva-Maria Trinkaus, Dr. (she/her/hers) – University of Klagenfurt, Austria