Lifelong Learning and Dementia (eBook)

Acknowledgements 7
Contents 9
Chapter 1: Introduction to Dementia and Lifelong Learning 10
Challenging the Loss Narrative of Dementia 10
The Significance of a Posthumanist Perspective 11
Dementia: ‘Scourge’, ‘Plague’ and Punishment 12
Dementia as a Global Issue and Cultural Phenomenon 14
Dementia Care and Suffering 15
Arts and Dementia 16
Lifelong Learning and Dementia 17
Dementia as a Posthuman Way of Being 20
Dementia as a Feminist Issue 21
Our Research Studies 22
Conclusion 28
References 28
Chapter 2: A Posthumanist Perspective on Dementia 32
Introduction 32
Living in a Posthuman/Humanist Epoch 33
Challenging the ‘Human’ 34
Posthuman Theories 35
Thing Power and Vibrant Matter 35
Intra-activity and Agentic Assemblages: Sparks of Life 37
Silence and Bodies: ‘How Her Eyes Change’ 39
Affinity, Trans-corporeality and Submersion: Visiting ‘the Bottom of the Ocean’ 41
Potentia: Countering the ‘Semi-depressing Environment’ 42
Posthuman Methodologies: ‘This Has Her Attention’ 42
Posthuman Ethics: A Posthuman Ethics of Rights for Dementia 45
Posthuman Possibilities and Problems 46
Conclusion 47
References 48
Chapter 3: Dementia and the Post-verbal 51
Introduction: Beyond Words 51
Voice and Lifelong Learning 53
Our Participants 55
New Learning Worlds: ‘Living in a Different World’ 56
Unending Lifelong Learning: ‘How Wonderful!’ 57
Teaching Through Dementia: ‘I Don’t Know What It Is, But It Is Something’ 62
Understanding Time and Meaning Differently: ‘Stimulating the Bubble’ 63
Conclusion 65
References 66
Chapter 4: Intergenerational Learning and Dementia 68
Introduction 69
Intergenerational Approaches to Dementia 70
What Do You Do When You Cannot Trust Your Mind Anymore? Become a Spider 72
Making Bridges with Music 73
The Posthumanist Observation Framework: What Does a Smile ‘Do’?, Not What Does a Smile ‘Mean’? 73
Posthumanist Observation Framework (Quinn and Blandon 2017) 74
Discussion: Can You Remember the Future? 76
Learning About, from and with Greg: ‘There Is Something He Forgot to Forget’ (Braidotti) 76
Learning from and with Bernard: Intra-actions and the Value of Fluidity 78
Learning with and from Sarah: ‘That Bit Is the Words’: Learning Beyond Memory and Identity 82
Conclusion 85
References 86
Chapter 5: Conclusion 89
Introduction: ‘Living Inside Ideas’ About Dementia 89
The Trap of Memory: ‘I Always Remember Us’ 91
Learning in and Through Dementia: ‘Discovering the Treasures’ 92
The Value of Moments: ‘It’s Wonderful’ 93
Dementia Research: ‘No One Can Be in Their Head’ 95
Dementia: Not a Wasteland for Learning 96
Conclusion: Dementia and a Sustainable Planet 97
References 97
Index 99