The Need for Theory: Critical Approaches to Social Gerontology

by Simon Biggs, Jon Hendricks, Ariela Lowenstein

Overview

The "Need for Theory" speaks to the burgeoning need for critical thinking in social gerontology. The editors have brought together some of the foremost contributors to theoretical advances in the field. This volume incorporates state-of-the-art theorizing with a focus on selected topical areas facing gerontologists around the world. Using their keen insights into substantive issues, the contributors examine personal and structural changes affecting individuals over the life course. Extolling the need for theory is not enough; the contributors focus their insights on a panoply of substantive issues, linking the personal with the political and with the structural parameters that shape the process of aging, no matter where it occurs.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781351863278
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	11/25/2020
Series:	Society and Aging Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	268
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Simon Biggs (Author) ,  Jon Hendricks (Author) ,  Ariela Lowenstein (Author)

Table of Contents

The Need for Theory in Gerontology Simon Biggs, Jon Hendricks, and Ariela Lowenstein

SECTION ONE Theorizing Gerontology

Chapter 1 Critical Gerontological Theory: Intellectual Fieldwork and the Nomadic Life of Ideas Steven Katz

Chapter 2 The Perils and Possibilities of Theory Ruth E. Ray

Chapter 3 The Legacy of Social Constructionism for Social Gerontology Hans-Joachim von Kondratowitz

Chapter 4 Structure and Identity—Mind the Gap: Toward a Personal Resource Model of Successful Aging Jon Hendricks

SECTION TWO Theorizing Micro Relations

Chapter 5 Sense and Structure: Toward a Sociology of Old Bodies Emmanuelle Tulle

Chapter 6 Contemporary Later-Life Family Transitions: Revisiting Theoretical Perspectives on Aging and the Family— Toward a Family Identity Framework Ariela Lowenstein

Chapter 7 The Aging Paradox: Toward Personal Meaning in Gerontological Theory Gerben J. Westerhof, Freya Dittmann-Kohli, and Christina Bode

Chapter 8 Negotiating Aging Identity: Surface, Depth, and Masquerade Simon Biggs

SECTION THREE Theorizing Macro Relations chapter 9 Globalization and the Reconstruction of Old Age: New Challenges for Critical Gerontology Chris Phillipson

Chapter 10 Theoretical Approaches to Problems of Families, Aging, and Social Support in the Context of Modernization Merril Silverstein, Vern L. Bengtson, and Eugene Litwak

Chapter 11 Theorizing Age Relations Toni Calasanti

Chapter 12 Theoretical Perspectives on Old Age Policy: A Critique and a Proposal Carroll L. Estes

CONCLUSION

Where is Theory Headed? Simon Biggs, Jon Hendricks, and Ariela Lowenstein

Contributors

Index

Editorial Reviews

5 Stars! from Doody

Received a 5 star rating from Doody Publishing Weekly Updates!

"This provocative book presents a different, and hopefully, more productive discussion about theory and theorizing in gerontology. Most books review contemporary theories of aging and their uses. This one presents a critical evaluation of those theories, identifies key issues and contradictions, and work and thinking that must be undertaken to gain a more coherent understanding of adult aging, and for the multidisciplinary field of gerontology to come of age.
—PhD, RN, FAAN(University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing), Doody Publishing Weekly Updates

Marquis D. Foreman

Reviewer: Marquis D. Foreman, PhD, RN, FAAN (University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing)
Description: This book, part of Baywood's Society and Aging Series, is a critical evaluation of the state of theory and theorizing in gerontology.
Purpose: The various chapters outline key issues and contradictions around adult aging; provide implications for research, policy, education, and practice; and potentially offer a new way to think about aging-work that is fundamental to realizing a coherent understanding of adult aging.
Audience: The audience for this book is implicit in the introductory and concluding remarks by the editors: the global multidisciplinary community of scholars, students, providers, and policy makers of aging adults.
Features: This book consists of three sections ordered to reflect the principal concerns of the authors. In their introductory remarks, the editors set the context for the need for theory and theorizing in gerontology as well as for ensuing discussion. Section one, entitled "Theorizing gerontology," consists of four chapters in which the patterns and directions of theorizing in gerontology are examined and observations of strengths and weaknesses are provided. Section two, entitled "Theorizing micro relations," consists of four chapters, in which individual and interpersonal issues of aging are explored. The third section, "Theorizing macro relations," also consists of four chapters analyzing structural relations and their influence on the construction of aging. The book ends with concluding remarks by the editors in which they address where theory is headed and what theory should accomplish.
Assessment: This provocative book presents a different, and hopefully, more productive discussion about theory and theorizing in gerontology. Most books review contemporary theories of aging and their uses. This one presents a critical evaluation of those theories, identifies key issues and contradictions, and work and thinking that must be undertaken to gain a more coherent understanding of adult aging, and for the multidisciplinary field of gerontology to come of age.

Doody's Review Service