Description

"I welcome this book′s refreshing approach to developing an understanding of fifty major concepts being employed in social gerontology. Far from a dictionary, the concepts are portrayed as complex, and conflicting definitions and usages are both noted and evaluated. The joint UK-US authorship promotes a much needed international approach to the field--something all too lacking in most American textbooks and theoretical articles. Each article includes a (necessarily selective) set of references, and cross-references to other concepts included in the book. Readers might enjoy a ′follow the cross-reference′ adventure, which will situate each concept in a set of related concepts at the same, a broader, or a narrower level. Moreover, the coverage and evaluation of the concepts is right at the current leading edge in a rapidly moving field."
--Victor Marshall, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Social gerontology is a new and dynamic field reflecting the increasing interest in aging across the world. This book provides a readily accessible guide to well established and contested issues, as well as new concepts emerging through cutting edge research in the discipline.

The entries give concise, lucid knowledge on what constitutes the ′building blocks′ of social gerontology and sets out a clear review of the core concepts, both classic and emerging, in this subject area.

Each concept is explored in terms of its:

History
Application
Usefulness to theory and research
Significance in practice

They go beyond simple definition of the concepts to look at how each issue has shaped the discipline of social gerontology today.

This book is authored by social gerontologists from the UK and the USA. Together they present an interdisciplinary perspective and reflect a global approach to the presentation of key concepts in social gerontology.