Univ. of Guelph, Ontario and the Journal „Social History of Alcohol and Drugs“ (Web)
Venue: Univ. of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario
Time: 04.-05.08.2027
Proposals by: 15.12.2026
Sociologists have long been interested in the phenomenon of “maturing out” out of alcohol and drug use. Yet recent data suggests that the history of drug and alcohol use over the life course is more complicated than people becoming more moderate or abstinent as they age. People often use the drugs of their youth into older ages, even if the ways in which they use these drugs changes over time. This is particularly true of alcohol, a drug whose legal status in most countries means that some of the important incentives for quitting or reducing use are absent. By contrast, there are legions of ex-smokers in most Western countries today. There are interesting questions to be asked about how the use of legal psychotropics such as SSRI’s, tranquillizers and amphetamines changes over the life course. We are interested in how changing patterns of use are impacted by race, ethnicity, gender, and class – including differential access to prescription pharmaceuticals, different understandings of pain and disability, and the question of affordability. This workshop will examine the historical use of psychotropic substances, including studies of children, youth, young adults, middle-aged adults and the elderly. Histories from all parts of the world are welcome. While the focus of the conference will be on historical approaches to age, alcohol and drugs, applications from non-historians working on historical topics are welcome.
The papers at this conference will be considered for a special issue of the Social History of Alcohol and Drugs. Potential questions include:
- How have older people inducted younger people into drug use and what lessons have they tried to impart?
- How have societies at different times and places tried to encourage or prohibit the drug use of individuals based on their age through law (such as legal drinking ages), informal prohibitions, or incentives (such as teachers encouraging the use of Ritalin and other drugs)? Continue reading

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