History and the City Laboratory round table: «Old age, a ground for emancipation» (talk by Aline Chamahian)

Wednesday 3 December 2025 | 6.30 pm - 8 pm | Palais de Rumine, Salle Tissot (Lausanne, Switzerland)

This round table invites us to think about old age as an area of freedom from the norms of the workplace and the pressures of a performance-driven society..

When they leave the world of work, older people have more time for activities of their own choosing, valuing experience, transmission and personal pleasure rather than profitability. However, the stereotypes that weigh on them - between supposed inactivity and the injunction to remain «dynamic» - limit this freedom by imposing rigid models of «ageing well». It is therefore essential to rethink old age as an area of autonomy, where everyone can redefine their relationship with activity according to their own aspirations.

SPEAKERS :

• Christophe Capuano, University Professor at the Rhône-Alpes Historical Research Laboratory, Grenoble-Alpes University
• Aline Chamahian, researcher and lecturer at Mesopolhis, Aix-Marseille University, CNRS
• Sophie Richelle, post-doctoral researcher, University of Ottawa and Université libre de Bruxelles

Speech by Rebecca Ruiz, State Councillor, Head of the Department of Health and Social Action (DSAS).

MODERATED BY :

• Dominique Dirlewanger, historian and history teacher at Gymnase Provence
• Valérie Hugentobler, Co-Dean of the Social Work Department, Haute école de travail social et de la santé Lausanne (HETSL HES-SO)

Round-table discussion organised by the Laboratoire Histoire et Cité, in partnership with the Haute école de travail social et de la santé Lausanne (AVIF network) and Pro Senectute Vaud.

For more information, click here: https://www.labo-histoire.ch/evenement/la-vieillesse-terrain-demancipations/