Centre for Policy on Ageing



Population ageing — critical gerontology and the sociological tradition
Author(s)	Chris Phillipson, Simon Biggs
Journal title	Education and Ageing, vol 14, no 2, 1999
Pages	pp 159-170
Keywords	Personality ; Attitude ; Ageing process ; Sociology, Social Science.
Annotation	Developments in social gerontology have led to an increased awareness of the relationship between political economy, culture and personal narrative as influences on social identity in later life. Central to this debate has been a growing interest in lifestyle choice as evidence of a change from modern to post-modern forms of ageing. A key component of this process has been the erosion of a predictable framework for an ageing identity, previously supplied by the welfare state. It is argued that, alongside the emergence of "no care zones" in health and welfare, post-modern ideas on consumerism and the body have lead to an assault on identity in old age. As a result, we may be seeing the emergence of "no identity zones", which fail to sustain an authentic framework for supporting experiences in old age. A critical gerontology should include the study of identity as central to understanding the disjunction between ageing from within and ageing within society. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-000229232 A
Classmark	DK: DP: BG: S
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.