Ieva Stončikaitė holds a BA in English Philology (2011) and a MA in Secondary Education Teacher Training and English Language Teaching (2012) from the University of Lleida. She was awarded a research scholarship from the University of Lleida in 2013 and is currently working on her PhD thesis on Erica Jong in which she explores how ageing affects female sexuality, gender relations, travelling and the literary creation of this contemporary American writer. She is a member of the research group Grup Dedal-Lit in collaboration with the SIforAge project and a member of the European Network in Ageing Studies (ENAS). Ieva also co-teaches Literature and Cinema as assistant lecturer at the Department of English and Linguistics at the same university. Her research interests are: social gerontology, gender relations, sexuality, travel writing, embodiment & body politics, ageing & the life-course, active and healthy ageing, social innovation and policies related to ageing research.
In her free time, Ieva loves practicing Latin-style dancing, does sports, and studies languages. She also tries to travel as much as possible to discover and photograph different cultures, landscapes, and ways of life. She is convinced that by having the courage to lose sight of the shore and leaving the comfort zone, a person is able to explore new realities, undo the stereotypes about other cultures, and discover new realities that may leave one speechless, but then turn him/her into a storyteller. Thus, one of her favourite quotes is: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do”
(Mark Twain).
Research Keywords: active ageing, body, cultural studies, gender studies