Aging and Identity: A Dialogue with Postmodernism

Abstract

Viewing aging and identity through the critical lens of both contemporary gerontology theory and postmodernist concepts, the contributing scholars examine a vast range of issues: from disability to clothing; from aging, health and education to social philosophies and meanings of aging; and from auto-ethnographic methodologies to rethinking postmodern theories of aging. These rich examples demonstrate that traditional biomedical models of aging can no longer give universal and totalising views of aging. The key issue of the book is to point to the varied social and cultural representations and experiences of aging and identity formation. The book celebrates the diversity of older people, challenging the bio-medical equation of 'aging as decline' with exciting and alternative theorizations from postmodern gerontology. Further, a postmodern approach helps to debunk and shatter fixed and limited perceptions of aging by advocating an alternative expression of aging; the conceptual and theoretical focus on aging identity illuminates the self is fluid, changeable and dynamic. This book engages social theory with aging identity by analysing the challenges and opportunities afforded to older people in the ‘contemporary age of aging’.