Ageing Trouble stands for a sense of discomfort with age stereotypes and ageism, as well as for resistance and self-determined educational processes in later life. From a performativity-theoretical perspective, Miriam Haller develops in her book a performative cultural geragogy that connects Ageing Studies with cultural education in older age.
How are geragogical models of ageing deconstructed in literature? And how is Ageing Trouble brought to the stage in cultural education practice? To explore these questions, she analyzes the performativity of discourse on education and ageing, and opens up action-oriented perspectives on self-willed performances of ageing and aesthetic educational processes in later life. She does so through performative practices such as Un/doing Age, Un/doing Generations, Un/doing Biography, and Un/doing Beauty, based on three dance and theatre projects with older adults.
The study examines intergenerational dance projects by metabolisten/Silke Z. as well as the Ageing Body laboratories by Silke Z./resistdance; the performative practices of the senior theatre ensemble Golden Gorkis in their production “Ätsch Age!” under the direction of Ron Rosenberg at Maxim Gorki Theater Berlin; and the OLDSCHOOL ensemble with their production “Wunderschönes Welkfleisch” under the direction of David Vogel at Schauspiel Köln.
All three are part of the network and exchange project “NachWieVor. Tanzperformance & Alter(n)”, which was initiated by ehrenfeldstudios in 2022.
The book is now available for pre-order:
Miriam Haller (2026): Ageing Trouble! – Theorie, Diskursgeschichte und Praxis der Performativen Kulturgeragogik, Bielefeld: transcrit, Print und Open Access, https://www.transcript-publishing.com/978-3-8376-8013-3/ageing-trouble-theorie-diskursgeschichte-und-praxis-der-performativen-kulturgeragogik/
To mark the publication, a book launch party will take place on July 18, 2026, at 6 pm at ehrenfeldstudios. The event is being organized in collaboration with Dr. Miriam Haller’s passAGEnwerkstatt and will bring together invited guests from the fields of dance, academia, and cultural education for a private professional gathering.