Chapter 2: Intergenerativity

​My love for art and science was cultivated by my grandparents and great-grandfather. By intergenerativity, I mean generative relationships between generations, allowing for enriching intergenerational learning and cultural transmission. Art and science both search for patterns and holistic connections. Intergenerativity illicits future forms of innovation.
 
Here is a video of Dr. Peter Whitehouse explaining the role of the arts in healing. He defines the meaning of the word intergenerativity and the concept he has developed in relation to intergenerational learning and transmission. He also uses the metaphor of trees to describe transgenerational connections between the earth and sky. Not only is Dr. Whitehouse a neurologist that has done research on Alzheimer’s disease, but he refers to himself as a tree doctor. Here is the abstract from his article, “From Intergenerational to Intergenerative: Towards the Futures of Intergenerational Learning and Health.”
 
“Intergenerational schools and other multi-age contact zones are important innovations in learning and health. In this reflective essay, we explicate the idea of ‘intergenerativity’ as an elaboration of concept of ‘intergenerational’ to include other inter-actions, such as those that form among disciplines, nations, and professions. Based on celebrating diverse ideas and backgrounds, intergenerativity is a future-oriented concept that goes “between” and “among” current modes of thought and action to “beyond”, i.e. new forms of innovation. It challenges dominant reductionist ways of thinking about aging and brain aging—most prominently the outmoded concept of a single curable Alzheimer’s disease. In a time of climate change, economic hardship, and political turmoil, intergenerative learning is key to healthier individuals and communities”.
 
Whitehouse and George, “From Intergenerational to Intergenerative: Towards the Futures of Intergenerational Learning and Health.”
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpZ8rVZa7T4
 
In my book I write about Dr. Gilder who was both and artist and archaeologist, working and painting in Nebraska. My grandparents, Harland and Marion Mossman, collected his paintings. Dr. Gilder’s life is an example of how both science and art interact. His life’s work added to the richness of Nebraska’s culture. His Nebraska landscapes underscored the beauty of the trees and their interconnected branches.

Dr. Gilder’s American Anthropologist article

A view of Dr. Gilder’s paintings featured in a museum collection.

Here is a brief story of his life and career