Current Discussion

A major argument used by those who wish to extend working lives is that there is no such as a ‘lump of labour’: in other words, labour markets are not fixed in number, they are instead capable of massive expansion.

When I created my anthology of literature on aging, I chose a diverse group of writers, past and present. Students in my ESL classes contributed stories about aging in their countries, including folk tales they had heard growing up.

Our culture has created a new dimension of ageism that equates hyper-cognitive abilities with successful aging. Even the Alzheimer Society of Canada advises to “keep your brain active every day” and “that a healthy brain can withstand illness better”; but how can we really know when our brains are ‘active’ or ‘healthy’, let alone keep them that way?

Historically, the idea of ‘generational conflict’ made its way into pop culture in the 1960s, posing a strong argument about the existence of a generational gap.

Can success, a term often associated with ageing, be negative? This question, rarely asked beyond critical and more humanistic age studies, may help to better understand the notions of success and the realities of growing older (Peterson and Martin, 2015).

Recent public attention has been drawn to sexualized interactions between older residents living in long-term care through highly publicised nursing home scandals. What is less known is that sexualized interactions also occur between workers and residents in long-term care.

Population ageing and international migration are two of the major societal trends that European societies are facing today. These trends affect not only the ways in which we conceive aging and old age but also the manner in which elderly care is planned and provided.

The critique of the notion of ‘successful aging’ coined a while ago by Rowe and Kahn, revolves around these issues of intra-generational (in addition to inter-generational) inequality, whether it is represented in media discourses about later life, or in individuals’ everyday experiences.

Queer gerontology is a critical analysis of the heterosexual norms shaping scholarship and practice in gerontology.

As we look back on the past year, we wish to acknowledge those who have followed the blog and contributed their work to the INCG.