Ageing studies explained

Ageing studies (or age studies) is a field of theoretically, politically, and empirically engaged cultural analysis that has been developed by scholars from many different disciplines. In recent years, the field of ageing studies has flourished, with a growing number of scholars paying attention to the cultural implications of population ageing.[1] [2]

History and description of the field

Ageing studies break from the traditional field of gerontology by highlighting how biological ageing is mediated by cultural construction, and by emphasising the self-representation of the elderly.[3] The first issue of the academic journal Age, Culture, Humanities includes many essays that address the "coming of age" of this field, in which Stephen Katz draws a comparison between the current state of age studies and gender studies.[4] [5]

Aging studies is an interdisciplinary field, which can be affiliated with the wider approaches found in cultural studies, gender studies, media and film studies, consumer culture, etc. Researchers working in this field interrogate the cultural discourses and practices that construct the meaning of ageing. For example, they invoke calculations of age, asking at what age someone is considered "old" (fifty? sixty?) and referring to the social practice of trying to figure out someone's age.[6] They investigate how public expressions of ageing in the West, such as representations of old age in the news, films and television, create limited views of old age, therefore leading to ageism, a general lack of awareness of diversity, and intergenerational misunderstandings and divisions.[7] [8] Within this perspective, ageing is understood not merely as a biological state, but as a lived experience, embodied and mediated, occurring within specific material and social circumstances.[9] Research in this field is primarily conducted through methodologies associated with the social sciences and the humanities.

Notable books in the field

Academic organisations

Research centres and networks:

Journals:

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Gilleard. Chris. Aging and Aging Studies: Celebrating the cultural turn. Age, Culture, Humanities. 2014. 1. 1. 27 July 2015. 10.4324/9781315839530. 9781315839530.
  2. Looser. Devoney. Age and Aging Studies, from cradle to grave. Age, Culture, Humanities. 2014. 1. 1. 27 July 2015.
  3. Wernick. Andrew. Andrew Blaikie. Ageing and popular culture. Canadian Journal of Sociology. 1999. January 2000. 27 July 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160305032458/http://www.cjsonline.ca/reviews/ageing.html. 5 March 2016. dead. dmy-all.
  4. Katz. Stephen. What is Age Studies?. Age, Culture, Humanities. 2014. 1. 1. 27 July 2015.
  5. Segal. Lynne. The Coming of Age Studies. Age, Culture, Humanities. 2014. 1. 1. 27 July 2015.
  6. Riley. Jeannette E.. Reviewed Work: Figuring Age: Women, Bodies, Generations by Kathleen Woodward. Rocky Mountain Review of Language and Literature. 2000. 54. 2. 138–141. 1348142. 10.2307/1348142.
  7. Book: Jennings. Ros. Gardner. Abigail. 'Rock on': Women, Ageing and Popular Music. 2012. Ashgate. Aldershot.
  8. Book: Dolan. Josephine. Tincknell. Estella. Ageing Femininities: Troubling Representations. 2012. Cambridge Scholars Press.
  9. Book: Cruikshank. Margaret. Learning to be old: Gender, culture, and aging. 2003. Rowman & Littlefield. Lanham MD. registration.
  10. Gullette, M. (2004). Aged by culture. Chicago IL: University of Chicago Press
  11. Book: Woodward. Kathleen. Figuring Age: Women, Bodies, Generations. 1999. Indiana University Press. Bloomington.
  12. Book: Blaikie. Andrew. Ageing and popular culture.. 1999. Cambridge University Press.
  13. Book: de Beauvoir. Simone. The Coming of Age. 1971. W.W. Norton & Company Inc.