The research was done within the framework of the Long Term Care and Dementia Partnership. With these stories, the researchers “attempt to put dementia on the agenda in a way that provides inspiration for ethnographers and others interested in, or engaged by, dementia—and those who are just encountering the topic” or are dealing with dementia in a personal environment.

The idea of thinking about and with dementia via stories and to make them available online for a wider audience was first coined at an experimental workshop organised last year at the UvA. During this workshop, PhD students brought their work in conversation with the work of other researchers from different disciplines to find new ways of addressing the topic of dementia. All involved were asked to write stories that “reflect on, make present, or imagine ways to live with dementia”.

Some stories touch upon, amongst others: what can dementia teach us about mundane situations? What does it mean to ‘remember’ or ‘reminisce’? Such small stories touch on ‘big questions’, such as imagining a life ending with dementia, suffocating from despair in a life that becomes unmanageable, or drowning in an unbearable everydayness of life. 

The series can be found here. The website also allows comments, and the makers invite you to leave your thoughts and ideas. In total, fourteen stories will be published within the themes ‘Time’, ‘Daily life’ and ‘Participation’. You can also follow the project on Twitter with the hashtag #storydementia.

The initial workshop and the publication on Somatosphere was funded by the Programme Group Health, Care and the Body of the AISSR and the Research Priority Area on Social Science and Global Health. The workshop followed on from a conference entitled ‘Living well with dementia: How do we do that?’, which was organised in Amsterdam to explore dementia and the good life, with people living with dementia, caregivers, care professionals, medical professionals, managers, artists and interest group representatives.

Health, Care and the Body programme group

The team behind the series and the research collection includes members of the Programme Group Anthropology of Health, Care and the Body: Susanne van den Buuse, Annelieke Driessen, Silke Hoppe, Natashe Lemos Dekker, Kristine Krause, Jeannette Pols, Laura Vermeulen, and Emily Yates-Doerr. The series was edited by Kristine Krause, Jeannette Pols, Annelieke Driessen, and Emily Yates-Doerr.