(Dørene lukkes præcist)

Bedømmelsesudvalg:

• Lektor Tine Fristrup (formand), Aarhus Universitet, Institut for Uddannelse og Pædagogik (DPU)
• Senior Lecturer in Social Policy Lorna Warren, University of Sheffield, Department of Sociological Studies
• Lektor Bjarke Oxlund, Københavns Universitet, Institut for Antropologi

Hovedvejleder

• Professor (MSO) Jeppe Læssøe, Aarhus Universitet, Institut for Uddannelse og Pædagogik (DPU)

Medvejleder

• Professor (MSO) Kristian Larsen, Aalborg Universitet, Institut for Læring og Filosofi

Forsvaret ledes på engelsk af lektor Linda Kragelund, Aarhus Universitet, Institut for Uddannelse og Pædagogik (DPU).

Afhandlingen ligger til gennemsyn hos Institut for Uddannelse og Pædagogik (DPU), Tuborgvej 164, bygning D, lokale 329, sekretariatet.

Institut for Uddannelse og Pædagogik (DPU) er vært ved en efterfølgende reception.

Abstract
This thesis is a kaleidoscopic representation of narratives about individuals and groups of older people in the Danish welfare state. I met my informants in three pedagogical contexts sharing the goal of health and well-being for their target groups. The thesis is an anthropological contribution to research in gerontology and in this field it shares goals with cultural gerontology and the gerontology of everyday life.
The analyses of the thesis are divided into two parts of which one embraces different health related themes as they appeared from the fieldwork among the elderly people. The second part is about the ideas of health and old people seen on the levels of policy and pedagogy in the empirical field. The five overall themes in the first part of the analysis are; work with body and mind, performance of personal self, active ageing, community and death. The policies and guidelines for healthcare targeting older citizens, analysed in the second part of the analysis, show inconsistencies between the displayed view on older people and health in goals and guidelines. In contrast the professionals in the pedagogical contexts are aligned in their overall goals despite their diverse pedagogical approaches and activities.
A significant conclusion in the thesis is that health is rarely on the agenda in social relations in the chosen settings as something important in itself. However, the aspect of identity stand as very clear in all the empirical themes and, therefore, I suggest that it is included in health models such as the above mentioned.