Lena Gan
PhD student
Thesis
Title: Cultural Encounters of the Third Age: Assembling wellbeing at the museum
Topic: Health and wellbeing of older people in the context of the museum
Overall research question: How do positive cultural encounters between older people and museums contribute to their health and wellbeing?
Populations around the world are ageing. In developed nations, we are now living an average of 30 years longer than we did a century ago. These demographic changes have significant social and policy implications and keeping older citizens physically and mentally healthy, and disability-free have become public policy priorities. A body of social epidemiological research provides strong evidence linking cultural attendance to health and wellbeing outcomes. Informed by a posthuman, new materialist methodological approach, this qualitative study explores how this might occur by examining the affects, relations, events, forces and spaces that constitute the lived experience of cultural engagement for older people. Using a multiple case study design, data has been collected in four museums in four countries (Australia, New Zealand, France & UK).
Supervisors
Dr Dianne Mulcahy, Dr Richard Gillespie, Professor Kate Darian-Smith