Ángel Leira Pernas

Ángel started his PhD within the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social at Queen’s University Belfast in September 2020.  His project is called “Material Memoirs on the Journey of Life”.

This inter-disciplinary PhD uses methods from museum studies to investigate social aspects of ageing, with a view to uncovering what it means to live a long life.  The initial aim of the project is to adapt and develop The Lively Project’s method and approach to engage with individuals aged 70+ to capture the diversity of experiences of vulnerability in old age, as well as the diversity of experiences of people from different countries, settings and social conditions (migrants, people from different social classes, living in settings such as care or nursing homes, etc.).

The methodology used will be ‘object-led interviewing’ to help participants tell their life story and to reveal complex and alternative narratives of older age, recognising the importance of object handling in remembering and in shaping/constructing memories.

Ángel’s supervisors are Dr Gemma Carney (ARK) and Dr Leonie Hannan from the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics.