Creative expression forms, social formation and bodily learning processes beyond formal schooling Research program lead by associate professor Margit Saltofte
Current research focus: Partnership and Learning Processes in Dementia Communities Focusing on partnerships—most often between spouses—where one person is living with dementia, I investigate the following questions through anthropological fieldwork: • How do partners navigate living together with dementia? • How are their relationships shaped and transformed over time? What changes, and what becomes strengthened? • What role do communities and encounters with others who are also living with dementia play in these processes?
Partnerships are intensified, deepened, and challenged by dementia, often requiring the development of a new and more encompassing sense of “we.” Dementia also calls upon the caregiving partner to assume new roles, such as serving as the couple’s “shared memory” and acting as an “advocate” for the person with dementia in situations where they may not be recognized as a full participant because of memory loss or reduced verbal communication.
A key question is whether these roles of shared memory and advocacy can be supported through participation in activities such as singing and other informal forms of social engagement, where the person living with dementia can be present and recognized as a person in their own right, experiencing joy, connection, and intensity. While the caregiving partner’s roles can be demanding, they appear to be supported through involvement in professionally facilitated communities, where participants share similar experiences and can understand one another without the need for extensive explanation.
These issues are explored by means of anthropological fieldwork in dementia choirs, at the Dementia Folk High School, and, as a next step, within dementia communities more broadly.
The fieldwork is complemented by autoethnographic material. Also the research work is connected to creative fiction work such as Margit Saltoftes novel Halvmørkeland (2026).
The research program contributes to and forms part of the work on Well-being and Health conducted by the Department of Culture and Communication at Aalborg University.