Social participation is among the most significant factors linked to health and wellbeing later in life. As a variety of studies have shown, loneliness (both social and emotional [i]) is one of the most pressing issues of ageing. Individuals, of all ages and backgrounds seek roles, a sense of belonging and purpose, but these needs becomes … More Digital Social Participation – post-fieldwork blog post with the ASSA project [Sept 2019]

Last week during one of the women’s group activities at the Multicultural Centre I have been regularly attending in Milan I was asked if I could take a photo for one of the Italian women, Maria, in her early 70s, who volunteers at the Centre three days per week. Maria had just been found on … More Smartphones: ‘addictions’ and connections – fieldwork blog post [May 2019]

Among the themes that have emerged from my research on ageing in Milan over the last 14 months, relationships between women and their Mothers have been particularly prominent. I have been exploring the significance of physical proximity, distance, and smartphones in examining how caring is enacted in these relationships, amongst women of different ages and … More Mothers and Daughters in Milan & beyond – fieldwork blogpost with ASSA project [March 2019]

Link to this post on the ASSA blog Books about ageing are currently in the spotlight. As discussed by Daniel Miller in an earlier blog post from February 2018, philosopher Kieran Setiya has looked at mid-life, from theoretical and practical perspectives. Another more recent work comes from journalist and author Carl Honoré, who in (B)older: … More Ageing Actively in Focus – fieldwork blogpost [January 2019] as part of the ASSA project

Fieldwork blog post, November 2018 In Italian, the word fare, means to do and to make. Doing and making appears to be a fundamental aspect of community life here in this inner-city neighbourhood in Milan’s zone 2, which constitutes the locus of my fieldwork. A number of activities, events and organisations I am involved in … More Fare insieme: making and doing things together in Milan – fieldwork blog post [November 2018] as part of the ASSA project

One of the key features of living in Milan are the characteristic apartment buildings (pictured below). Built in the early 20th century, these buildings, known as ‘palazzo’ (palazzi pl.), have housed generations of families, groups and individuals over the decades; Italian and non-Italian, working and middle-class. Photos (CC BY) Shireen Walton, Milan, Italy 2018 Living … More Living alone vs. loneliness: Notes from a Milanese neighbourhood – fieldwork blog post [Sept 2018] as part of the ASSA project

Info & -reregistration here: https://easabodiesinmotion.wordpress.com This outdoor laboratory invites participants to an anthropological exploration of bodies in motion in the outdoors; to acknowledge and challenge issues associated with movement; such as pace, rhythm, tempo, velocity and flow, surrounding their own practices, as well as the people, ‘things’ and contexts circulating around them, be it during fieldwork … More Open call for participants: outdoor lab ‘Bodies in Motion’ to take place at the EASA conference, August 2018, Stockholm University

View original post on the ASSA blog here Author: Shireen Walton Conversations between people meeting for the first time are often marked by the question “where are you from?”. In some cases, this may be the natural utterance of, say, a curious neighbour, while in other contexts the question may be positioned and/or received as … More ‘Milan, Mobiles & Mobility’ – fieldwork blog post [May 2018] as part of the ASSA project