International Conference 2014
18. - 20. September 2014
This international and interdisciplinary conference organised by the China Centre in conjunction with the History Department at Kiel University aims to bring together the two disparate views of ageing; one focusing only on the weaknesses of getting old and the other on the positive potential of active ageing. A more nuanced view of old age is needed, focusing on the concept of "self restraint", which combines ideas such as abstinence, asceticism, self-denial and frugality, but also self-cultivation and self-education. Our international guest experts, from the fields of gerontology, humanistic research on ageing and cultural studies, will connect historical and current perspectives on ageing and self-denial through scientific approaches. Given its anthropological focus, the conference is held in conjunction with the Institute for Historical Anthropology.