Skip to main content

Free US delivery on orders $35 or over

A Cultural History of Old Age

Volumes 1-6

A Cultural History of Old Age cover

A Cultural History of Old Age

Volumes 1-6

Quantity
Pre-order. Available Jun 24 2027
$550.00

Payment for this pre-order will be taken when the item becomes available

Description

The meanings given to old age reveal how a culture sees itself and what it values. The history of advanced age reflects our changing concepts of and attitudes to body and mind, authority and the past, community and the individual, economic and political power, work and leisure, and health and death. A Cultural History of Old Age presents the first comprehensive history from classical antiquity to today, covering all forms and aspects of ageing.

The 6 volumes cover: Antiquity (c.700 BCE-500 CE); the Medieval Age (500-1450); the Renaissance (1450-1650); the Age of Reason (1650-1800); the Age of Empire (1800-1920); the Modern Age (1920 - present).

Themes (and chapter titles): old age, gender and the life course; beliefs and cultures; population; family, community, and state; labor and leisure; science, medicine, and health; experiences of aging; and the artistic representation.

The page extent for the pack is approximately 1536pp. Each volume opens with an Introduction and concludes with Notes, Bibliography, and an Index.

The Cultural Histories Series
A Cultural History of Old Age is part of The Cultural Histories Series. Titles are available both as printed hardcover sets for libraries needing just one subject or preferring a one-off purchase and tangible reference for their shelves, or as part of a fully-searchable digital library available to institutions by annual subscription or on perpetual access (see www.bloomsburyculturalhistory.com).

Table of Contents


Volume 1: A Cultural History of Old Age in Antiquity
Edited by Tim Parkin, University of Melbourne, Australia and Geoffrey Nathan, San Diego State University, USA.

Introduction, Tim Parkin
1. Old Age, Gender and the Life Course, Mary Harlow
2. Beliefs and Cultures, Beate Wagner-Hasel
3. Population: The Demography of Old Age, Tim Parkin
4. Family, Community, and State. The Difficulties of Welfare, the Joys of Grandparenthood, Ville Vuolanto
5. Labor and Leisure, Geoffrey Nathan
6. Science, Medicine, and Health, Véronique Boudon-Millot
7. Experiences of Aging: Voices and Visions, Fiona Hobden
8. Artistic Representations: Age Before Beauty. Pliny the Younger and the Art of Growing Old, Roslynne Bell


Volume 2: A Cultural History of Old Age in the Medieval Era
Edited by Lucie Laumonier, Concordia University, Canada and Joel T. Rosenthal, Stony Brook University, USA.

Introduction, Lucie Laumonier
1. Old Age, Gender, and the Life Course, Matthew Roby
2. Beliefs and Cultures, Medieval Stereotypes of Old Age, Thijs Porck
3. Population, Kaela Parker
4. Family, Community and State, Lucie Laumonier
5. Labor and Leisure, Compton Reeves
6. Science, Medicine, and Health, Laura Cayrol-Bernardo and Ninon Dubourg
7. Experiences of Aging, Joel T. Rosenthal
8. Artistic Representations: Old Age in Mediaeval Poetry, Ad Putter


Volume 3: A Cultural History of Old Age in the Early Modern Era
Edited by Christopher Martin, Boston University, USA and Jaco Zuijderduijn, Lund University, Sweden.

Introduction, Christopher Martin and Jaco Zuijderduijn
1. Old Age, Gender, and the Life Course, Lynn Botelho
2. Beliefs and Cultures, Sarah Covington
3. Population, Richard M. Smith
4. Family, Community, and State, Kim Overlaet
5. Labor and Leisure, Jaco Zuijderduijn
6. Science, Medicine, and Health, Daniel Schäfer
7. Experiences of Aging, Christopher Martin
8. Artistic Representations, Naomi Conn Liebler and Andrea von Hülsen-Esch


Volume 4: A Cultural History of Old Age in the Era of Enlightenment and Revolution
Edited by Rebecca Brannon, James Madison University, USA and Susannah Ottaway, Carleton College, Minnesota, USA.

Introduction, Rebecca Brannon and Susannah Ottaway
1. Old Age, Gender, and the Life Course: Eighteenth-Century North America, Jason
and Naomi Eden
2. Beliefs and Cultures: Reinventing and Reimagining Old Age, Amy Culley
3. Population: The Demography of Old Age, Isabelle Devos
4. Family, Community, and State, Alannah Tomkins
5. Labor and Leisure, Richard M. Smith
6. Science, Medicine and Health, Rina Knoeff
7. Experiences of Aging, Anne Kugler
8. Artistic Representations, Christina K. Lindeman


Volume 5: A Cultural History of Old Age in the Era of Industry and Empire
Edited by Corinne T. Field, University of Virginia, USA and David G. Troyansky, City University of New York, USA.

Introduction, Corinne T. Field and David G. Troyansky
1. Old Age, Gender, and the Life Course, Corinne T. Field
2. Beliefs and Cultures: The Good, the Bad, and the Aged Other, Alice Crossley
3. Population, Jérôme Bourdieu and Lionel Kesztenbaum
4. Family, Community, and State, David G. Troyansky
5. Labor and Leisure, Frederick C. Knight
6. Science, Medicine, and Health, W. Andrew Achenbaum
7. Experiences of Aging: Outsiders and Anachronisms, Margery Vibe Skagen
8. Artistic Representations, Julia Langbein


Volume 6: A Cultural History of Old Age in the Modern and Postmodern Eras
Edited by Nicole Kramer, University of Cologne, Germany and Benoît Majerus, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg.

Introduction, Nicole Kramer and Benoît Majerus
1. Old Age, Gender, and the Life Course, Nicole Kramer
2. Beliefs and Cultures, James Chappel
3. Population: A History of Knowledge Approach to Old Age, Heinrich Hartmann
4. Family, Community, and State, Megan Davies
5. Labor and Leisure, Matthias Ruoss
6. Science, Medicine, and Health, Benoît Majerus
7. Experiences of Aging, Charlotte Greenhalgh
8. Artistic Representations, Heike Hartung

Product details

Bloomsbury Academic Test
Published Jun 24 2027
Format Hardback - Pack
Edition 1st
ISBN 9781350073135
Imprint Bloomsbury Academic
Illustrations 186 bw illus
Dimensions Not specified
Series The Cultural Histories Series
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Anthology Editor

David G. Troyansky

David G. Troyansky is Professor of History at Broo…

Anthology Editor

Tim Parkin

Tim G. Parkin is Chair of Classics at the Universi…

Related Titles

Environment: Staging