Aging Studies in Europe

Eine C.SAS-Publikationsreihe, die beim LIT-Verlag veröffentlicht wird.

HerausgeberInnen der Reihe: Heike Hartung, Roberta Maierhofer

For Sale:

Band 1: Narratives of Life: Mediating Age

Editors: Center for the Study of the Americas

Narratives of Life: Mediating Age. The prospect of increasing longevity has turned aging and old age into a topic of concern in Western societies. The discourse of age and the proliferation of narrative in contemporary media culture both transgress disciplinary boundaries. Addressing the "narratives of life" from different disciplinary angles this volume aims to explore the scope of a narrative gerontology. Aging and the stories that are told about it or from within are transnational and transcultural phenomena. While aging is thus a universal process, attention is also drawn to the categories of difference that it evokes: Historical, social and cultural differences as well as gender differences.

Aging Studies in Europe, Bd. 1, 208 S., 24.90 EUR, br., ISBN 978-3-8258-1229-4

Weitere Informationen zu diesem Buch finden Sie unter:http://www.lit-verlag.de/isbn/3-8258-1229-4

for sale also @ C.SAS, Uni Graz, Merangasse 18/II, 8010 Graz, Austria

In Print:

Band 2: Celebrity, Performance, and Aging: The Shaping of Attitude and Expression in Modern Culture

Editors: Aagje Swinnen und John A. Stotesbury

According to Roland Barthes, myths are socially constructed phenomena representing the worldview of the dominant class. These myths are represented as a “matter of course” in the texts of popular culture and in various art forms, and they contain socially accepted concepts of gender and age.

On the one hand, the media representation of aging celebrities and performers – as well as the representation of aging characters in the texts of modern culture – reflect the discourse on “age” in society; on the other hand, they contribute to the development and change of the concept of age that is  commonly accepted. Consequently, the representation of aging characters, celebrities and performers – and the values connected with these representations – interact with society and serve as indicators of dominant ideologies and values. The analyses of such portrayals enable the identification of current ideologies and trends connected with the societal and cultural meaning of age.

The editors are looking for papers that focus on a range of questions, including (but not limited to) the following: What meanings are attached to aging celebrities in various genres and texts of modern culture? How do (popular culture) texts and the values connected with representations of celebrities interact with society and serve as indicators of dominant ideologies? How does age shape identity constructions in popular culture and what role do images of celebrities play in identity formation? What genres and/or texts undermine the dominant representation of age as physical decline and how do celebrities cope with this negative view of aging?