The seminars for Hilary Term have been chosen in order to give an opportunity to academics and/or policy analysts to theorise about ageing and old age; and to reflect critically upon the values and norms that shape our responses to the prospect of longer lives in a rapidly changing world. The series, which will present work from different disciplines, sets out to explore key ideas and normative constraints that play a central role in our individual and collective thinking about ageing and old age. How have these ideas and constraints changed over time – and how are they changing now? What makes for successful ageing or productive ageing? How do we – or should we – think about well-being in later life? How do ideas about the importance of effective agency or dignity affect judgements about well-being? What are the bases for self-respect in later life? What does fairness require of arrangements for the provision of health or social care to older people?
