Review article

Age and Ageing of Human Race

Željka Mudrovčić ; The University of Exeter

Abstract

The paper deals with the difficulties of theorizing age and ageing in the contemporary world. One of the most important of these difficulties concerns the “enigma” of gender ageing. The author’s aim is to emphasize the drawbacks in theory for future development of adequate perspective on age and ageing. The point is that the “enigma” is constructed much the same way as it is historically constructed natural-female, and rational-mail dichotomy. Methodological framework proposed in the paper is defined by feminist and cultural studies with the strong emphases on the significant distance between natural and social sciences. It is argued that biological base of age and ageing, which concerns all known species and theoretically channeled as age and ageing of sexes, is not sufficient condition for resolving the “enigma”. Even less so is gender division in theory which reflects itself very often in reductionist social thought. The author”s suggestion is that in order to move out of this complex stalemate, social scientists should invest into building up the contemporary sociology of age and ageing. Feminist and culturalist methods implied should also enable social science to overcome the limits in thinking the “enigma” of gender indicated ageing.

Keywords

ageing; feminism; methodology; deconstruction; sociological theory

Hrčak ID:

154472

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/154472

Publication date:

31.12.1997.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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