Military Lives and Transformative Experiences is an interdisciplinary project run by Liz Brewester (Faculty of Health and Medicine) and Sam Clark (Department of Politics, Philosophy, and Religion). It is supported by the MOD’s Aged Veterans Fund via the Royal British Legion. The project employs a research assistant, Brigit McWade. We use a combination of qualitative interviews, workshops, and philosophical argument to investigate: (1) the therapeutic benefits of autobiographical storytelling for military veterans; and (2) the applicability of the philosophies of autobiography and of well-being to veterans’ lives. We aim both at understanding the nature of martial lives in time, and at interventions to improve the lives of veterans. In this round table, Liz, Sam, and Brigit present and offer for discussion some of our work and thinking so far.
Lancaster University, Fylde Lecture Theatre 3, 4-5.30pm