Social Gerontology Theory

Social Gerontology as Public Sociology in Action

Burawoy (2005) argues that sociology needs to re-establish a public sociology oriented toward society’s problems and the practice of its unique knowledge if it is to again be taken seriously by the public, policymakers, and others. Yet, it is unclear how best to achieve these goals. We argue that the relatively young field of social gerontology provides a useful model of successful public socio...

The Problem of Theory in Gerontology Today

Social Gerontology. Part 1. Aging and Intelligence

A previous essay discussed the biology of prolongevity, including genetic, cellular, immunological, neuroendocrine, and free radical theories on aging. 1That essay also addressed the question of why aging evolved and what purpose it serves. At that time, I noted that the social and economic consequences of a major breakthrough in aging research would be tremendous. Many of the theories discusse...

Theory, explanation, and a third generation of theoretical development in social gerontology.

Efforts at cumulative knowledge building in social gerontology have been lax, judging from research articles published in journals between 1990 and 1994. Too little attention has been paid to the cumulative development of theory; readers are left with many empirical generalizations but underdeveloped explanations by which to interpret findings and build upon them in subsequent research. To assi...

The body, gender, and age: Feminist insights in social gerontology

Drawing on insights from feminist gerontology, the article discusses the ways in which body, gender, and age intersect, arguing for the importance of recognizing the centrality of the body in aging, but the need to recognize that this body is socially and culturally constituted. It explores this through three areas: the role of the body in the subjective experience of aging and the problems and...