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Sociology · Sociology Themes and Perspectives (Haralambos and Holborn)

Chapter 13 : Age and the life course

Table of contents76 sections
  1. 1.Age and the life course
  2. 2.Introduction
  3. 3.Key Terms
  4. 4.📌 Exam Tidbits
  5. 5.The sociological study of age
  6. 6.The dimensions of age
  7. 7.Key Terms
  8. 8.📌 Exam Tidbits
  9. 9.Functionalist perspectives on age
  10. 10.Talcott Parsons - social system
  11. 11.Evaluation
  12. 12.Key Terms
  13. 13.📌 Exam Tidbits
  14. 14.Conflict perspectives on age and generation
  15. 15.The political economy of old age
  16. 16.John A. Vincent - age, stratification and inequality
  17. 17.Contemporary generational conflict
  18. 18.Key Terms
  19. 19.📌 Exam Tidbits
  20. 20.Feminist perspectives on age and the life course
  21. 21.Ann Oakley - feminism and childhood
  22. 22.Linda L. Gannon - Women and Aging
  23. 23.Evaluation of feminist perspectives
  24. 24.Key Terms
  25. 25.📌 Exam Tidbits
  26. 26.Interpretive perspectives on age
  27. 27.The influence of the interpretive perspective
  28. 28.Jenny Hockey and Allison James - Growing Up and Growing Old
  29. 29.Conclusion and evaluation
  30. 30.Key Terms
  31. 31.📌 Exam Tidbits
  32. 32.Postmodern perspectives on age
  33. 33.Jane Pilcher - modernity, postmodernity and the life course
  34. 34.Mike Featherstone and Mike Hepworth - The Mask of Ageing
  35. 35.Andrew Blaikie - Ageing and Popular Culture
  36. 36.Postmodernism and age - conclusion
  37. 37.Key Terms
  38. 38.📌 Exam Tidbits
  39. 39.Childhood
  40. 40.The dominant framework
  41. 41.Childhood as a social construction
  42. 42.The historical development of childhood
  43. 43.Modern and postmodern childhood
  44. 44.Berry Mayall - the sociology of children
  45. 45.Key Terms
  46. 46.📌 Exam Tidbits
  47. 47.Youth
  48. 48.Introduction - youth as a stage of transition
  49. 49.S.N. Eisenstadt - Archetypal patterns of youth
  50. 50.Youth and the transition to adulthood in Britain
  51. 51.Andy Furlong and Fred Cartmel - Young People and Social Change
  52. 52.Lorraine Green - the 'problem' of contemporary youth
  53. 53.Key Terms
  54. 54.📌 Exam Tidbits
  55. 55.Youth subcultures
  56. 56.The Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies
  57. 57.Dick Hebdige - Subculture: The Meaning of Style
  58. 58.Evaluation of Hebdige, the CCCS and neo-Marxist theories
  59. 59.Gender and youth subcultures
  60. 60.Sarah Thornton - Club Cultures
  61. 61.Andy Bennett - neo-tribes
  62. 62.David Muggleton - The Postmodern Meaning of Style
  63. 63.Shane Blackman - subcultural resistance
  64. 64.Paul Hodkinson - The goth scene and subcultural substance
  65. 65.Ross Haenfler - resistance and the variety of youth subcultures
  66. 66.Key Terms
  67. 67.📌 Exam Tidbits
  68. 68.Later life and old age
  69. 69.The nature of later life and old age
  70. 70.Lorraine Green - ageism
  71. 71.Elaine Cumming and William E. Henry - the functionalist disengagement theory of old age
  72. 72.Alternatives to disengagement theory
  73. 73.Key Terms
  74. 74.📌 Exam Tidbits
  75. 75.Summary and conclusions
  76. 76.Quick-Recall Box

Chapter preview

Age and the life course

Introduction

  • The concept of age refers to the time elapsed since an individual was born, sometimes known as chronological age.
  • Age and ageing are often viewed in biological and psychological terms (birth → physical maturity → ageing → death). However, sociologists argue that age cannot be fully understood without its social context, viewing age in part as a social construction.
  • The meanings, roles, and identities associated with age vary across societies and history:
  • Childhood: A prolonged childhood without paid work is a relatively recent phenomenon. In medieval Europe, 'children' were expected to work and take part in adult social life from a very young age (see pp. 846-7).
  • Old age: In traditional societies (e.g., China and Japan), the elderly are revered for their wisdom, holding high social status and considerable power (Giddens, 2006). In contemporary Western societies, Giddens (2006) notes the elderly are seen as "non-productive, dependent people who are out of step with the times".
  • Youth: Highly valued in contemporary society, leading individuals to spend fortunes on rejuvenation. Illustrative examples include cosmetic surgery, Viagra (the anti-impotence drug), skin creams and makeover TV programmes.
  • The meaning of age is linked to longevity, which varies drastically:
  • In 2009, life expectancy at birth was 48 in Zimbabwe, 80 in Britain, and 82 in Switzerland (World Bank, 2011).
  • In the UK in 1900, life expectancy was around 48 years for women and around 50 for men (Stephen Hunt, 2005).
  • Giddens (2006) argues sociologists should analyse age in terms of social age rather than chronological or biological age.
Chronological AgeSocial Age
Purely the time elapsed since birth.The cultural norms, values, and roles attached to a particular age.
  • Age acts as an aspect of stratification. John A. Vincent (2006) notes: "The roles and norms that society allocates to age groups create barriers and opportunities." These affect the status, power, wealth, and income enjoyed by different age groups. For example, in Britain, those over 65 have less opportunity to participate in the labour…
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Chapter 14 : Methodology