Distributed age(ing): Features of a material gerontology
Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: In this paper, I develop features of a material gerontology which are summarised in the concept of "distributed age(ing);" that is, age(ing) that is distributed across and co-constituted through meanings, roles, and identities, as well as human and non-human forms of materiality, their productive dimensions and their relations to each other. The starting point is the critique of the human-centredness of gerontological approaches and, thus, the lack of a systematic conceptual consideration of non-human forms of materiality and agency in the context of age(ing). To overcome this problem, I propose the following shifts in perspective that are inspired by actor-network theory: from human-centredness to the recognition and consideration of the material diversity of age(ing); from the critique of subject/object dualism to the symmetrisation of materialities; from the seemingly given ontology of the ageing body to the re-ontologisation of age(ing); from the critique of intentional and causal determinants to embodiment and relationality; from linearity and chronology to the plural temporalities of age(ing). I will explain these features in more detail by using breathing as an example. I will show that the concept of distributed age(ing) allows for both the generation of new insights on age(ing) by asking how, where and when age(ing) takes place and reflection on presumptions, determinants and reductions of approaches belonging to social and cultural gerontology.
Source: Journal of Aging Studies
Author: Grit Höppner
Institution: Catholic University of Applied Sciences
Language: English
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,210
OpenAlex ID: W4387300675