Rethinking the Sociology of Ageing

In this important new book, Paul Higgs and Chris Gilleard demonstrate how an effective sociology of later life is critical for understanding the ageing societies of the twenty-first century.

Rethinking the Sociology of Ageing situates ageing firmly within the discipline of sociology. Adopting a global lens, the authors explore later life in relation to contemporary social theory as it relates to social institutions and the increasing role of forms of capital. Key topics covered include generation, households, lifestyle, ‘cosmopolitanisation’, health and risk. The book contends that the sociology of later life is a key element in the changing nature of a globalised, late, reflexive or second modernity. The social space of later life is a hitherto neglected prism through which to examine changes in contemporary society.

This book will be invaluable for students and researchers specialising in sociology and sociological theory, comparative social policy, ageing studies, family and gender. Throwing a critical light on many age-based inequalities, it will also be of interest to policymakers and think tank specialists engaging with the contemporary salience of an ageing world.