Old Age in Modern Society: A textbook of social gerontology

ISBN-10: 1489930752
ISBN-13: 9781489930750
Category: Social Science
Pages: 262
Language: English
Published: 2013-11-11
Publisher: Springer
Author: Christina R. Victor

Description

Old age is a part of the lifecycle about which there are numerous myths and stereotypes. To present an overstatement of commonly held beliefs, the old are portrayed as dependent individuals, characterized by a lack of social autonomy, unloved and neglected by both their immediate family and friends; and posing a threat to the living standards of younger age groups by being a 'burden' that consumes without producing. Older people are perceived as a single homogeneous group, and the experiment of ageing characterized as being the same for all individuals, irrespective of the diversity of their circumstances before the onset of old age. In this book, detailed statistical material is used to portray the circum stances of older people in modern society in an attempt to evaluate the appropriateness (or otherwise) of the major stereotypes of later life. This volume does not address ageing from a psychological or micro-social per spective. In particular, we do not explore major issues relating to old age. Rather we feel that, from the extensive collection of surveys concerned with the elderly, we can provide a context within which individual eld erly people can be studied from more anthropological or biographical perspectives.

Get the book

Similar books

Aging, Society, and the Life Course, Fourth Edition
By Leslie A. Morgan, Suzanne R. Kunkel, PhD
Campbell, A. L. (2005). The non—distinctiveness of senior voters in the 2004 election. Public Policy c3“ Aging Report, 15(1), 1, 3—6. Campbell, R. T. (1988). Integrating conceptualization, design, and analysis in ...
Contemporary Perspectives on Ageism
By Clemens Tesch-Romer, Liat Ayalon
This open access book provides a comprehensive perspective on the concept of ageism, its origins, the manifestation and consequences of ageism, as well as ways to respond to and research ageism.
Ageing in Asia-Pacific: Interdisciplinary and Comparative Perspectives
By Thomas R. Klassen, Masa Higo, Theresa W. Devasahayam
The book shows how leaders in Asia-Pacific – political, community and others – need to respond to changes in family and social structures, disease pathology, gender roles, income security, the care of older citizens and the provision of ...
Ageing in Society
By John Bond, Sheila M Peace, Freya Dittmann-Kohli
`Ageing in Society brings forth exciting new questions, fresh perspectives, and a necessary critical approach to key issues - this is indeed an authoritative introduction.
Aging in the Past: Demography, Society, and Old Age
By Peter Laslett, David I. Kertzer
This important work provides a much-needed historical perspective on and suggests possible alternative solutions to the problems of the aged.
Productive Roles in an Older Society
By Institute of Medicine, National Research Council, Committee on an Aging Society
This second volume in the Institute of Medicine's series on America's Aging explores the various productive roles that the growing number of elderly individuals can play in society through volunteer work.
The Social Consequences of Long Life
By Holger Richard Stub
The Social Consequences of Long Life
Ageing and Technology: Perspectives from the Social Sciences
By Emma Domínguez-Rué, Linda Nierling
This volume aims at focusing on the perspective of human beings deriving from the development and use of technology: this change of perspective - taking the human being and not technology first - may help us to become more sensitive to the ...
Gerotranscendence: A Developmental Theory of Positive Aging
By PhD, Lars Tornstam
Given the 2006 GREAT GERONTOLOGY AWARD for outstanding contribution to gerontological research by the Swedish Gerontological Society Received a VALUE GROUND AWARD from the journal Aldreomsorg (Old Age Care) Expanding upon his earlier ...
The Evening of Life: The Challenges of Aging and Dying Well
By Joseph E. Davis, Paul Scherz
Although philosophy, religion, and civic cultures used to help people prepare for aging and dying well, this is no longer the case. Today, aging is frequently seen as a problem to be solved and death as a harsh reality to be masked.