Registration open for EARC Seminar on mental health and midlife

The last two seminars in our series on mental health and the lifecourse are now open to registration. The final one focuses on midlife. It is free and open to all. To register, click here. 

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Midlife can be a time of significant change, of questioning, of re-evaluation. It can be stressful, as people struggle with ageing, mortality and a sense of purpose. For women, there is the challenge of the menopause and the significant changes that come with it. In addition, for many there can be an increase in responsibility at work, but also – particularly in creative professions – a decrease in productivity. Of course, this isn’t the case for all, and some report a sense of contentment and happiness following challenges of work and parenting earlier in their lives.

This, the final seminar in our series on mental health, explores the issues from a humanities perspective, looking at how midlife affects creativity and productivity, but also how we creatively respond to the mental health challenges of midlife.

• Prof Ben Hutchinson (School of European Culture and Languages, Kent): Ben is a Professor of European Literature, and his research ranges widely across European – and especially, German – literature. His most recent monograph entitled The Midlife Mind looks at literature and the art of ageing. Using examples from writes as diverse as Dante, Montaigne, Beauvoir, Goethe and Beckett, the book explores not only the meaning of life, but the meaning of midlife.
• Prof Nicola Shaughnessy (School of Arts, Kent): Nicola is a Professor of Performance, with research and teaching specialisms in contemporary performance, autobiography, applied and socially engaged theatre. Her work includes practice-based research projects in education, health and workplace contexts, and includes a focus on mental life and conditions of mind (e.g. autism, dementia).