Special Issue. Ageing as a Unique Experience. (original) (raw)

2023

Ageing is a diverse and multifaceted experience that is unique to each person. The process of ageing is lived differently according to each individual’s socio-cultural, historical, religious, and political context, among other significant factors. However, the stereotype of homogeneity is still one of the strongest aspects related to later life. This Special Issue covers manuscripts of original research that critically examine the experience of old age and the process of growing older from different perspectives that range from social sciences to humanities and include social gerontology, cultural and literary gerontology, environmental gerontology, gerotechnological studies, social anthropology, and gender studies. The published articles explore and deepen our knowledge on body politics, sexuality, active and healthy ageing, space and place, age-friendly politics, human-robot interaction, media environments, digitalisation, the fourth age, ageism, narrative inquiry, creative writing, retirement management, and policy discourses among other topics. They collect arguments that show the variables and uniqueness of later life, and expand on the current theoretical frameworks in the field of age studies and beyond. The overall aim of this Special Issue is to broaden the gerontological scholarship and develop critical thought of old age and the life course beyond the merely biological processes of growing older and their sociocultural constructs. This Special Issue can be of interest to scholars, practitioners, stakeholders, and individuals concerned with the current dynamics of later life as well as the futures of ageing.