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Critical Perspectives on Ageing: New Challenges for Gerontology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 November 2008

Meredith Minkler
Meredith Minkler
Affiliation:
School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720–7360, USA
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Abstract

Critical gerontology may be seen as evolving along two paths simultaneously, one embracing a broad political economy of ageing framework, and the second emerging from a humanistic orientation. This paper will present and highlight the special contributions of each of these pathways to the understanding of ageing and growing old. Emergent feminist perspectives on ageing, and ‘culturally relevant ways of thinking’ about ageing and diversity will then be presented as complementing and extending critical gerontology. The concept of empowerment will be seen as linking all four of these conceptual approaches, and case studies and examples will be used to illustrate the relevance of these alternative perspectives for better understanding and addressing the problems and challenges facing gerontology in the years ahead.

Keywords

Political economyhumanistic gerontologyempowermentracial/ethnic diversity.
Type
Research Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 16 , Issue 4 , July 1996 , pp. 467 - 487
Copyright
Copyright Cambridge University Press 1996

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