Routledge Critical Gerontology Comes of Age: Advances in Research and Theory for a New Century (Society and Aging)

Critical Gerontology Comes of Age reflects on how baby boomers, caretakers, and health professionals are perceiving and adapting to historical, social, political, and cultural changes that call into question prior assumptions about aging and life progression. Through an exploration of earlier and later-life stages and the dynamic changes in intergenerational relations, chapter authors reexamine the research, methods, and scope of critical gerontology, a multidisciplinary field that speaks to the experiences of life in the 21st century. Topics include Medicare, privatization of home care, incarceration, outreach to LGTBQ elders, migration, and chronic illness. Grounded in innovative research and case studies, this volume reflects multiple perspectives and is accessible to lay readers, advanced undergraduates and graduate students, and professionals in many fields. Review "In Critical Gerontology Comes of Age, Chris Wellin has assembled an all-star cast of contributors who bring their expertise to bear on the underlying social, economic, and demographic forces that are shaping the aging experience in the 21st century. This sorely needed collection reminds us of the salience of the political economy perspective in explaining how macro-level power relations and control over resources influence such micro-level factors as family relationships, health, and quality of life. This book is crucial reading for all social gerontologists, and it would also be an excellent supplement for courses in social gerontology at both the graduate and undergraduate level."Jill Quadagno, PhD, Mildred and Claude Pepper Eminent Scholar Emerita, Pepper Institute on Aging and Public Policy, Florida State University "In Critical Gerontology Comes of Age, Chris Wellin assembles a collection of thoughtful, well-crafted chapters that explore and push the boundaries of contemporary gerontology. Timely and insightful, the book takes up a variety of issues that will interest a wide range of scholars, practitioners, and professionals across myriad disciplines. Chapter authors are experienced and well-regarded in their fields, and Wellin shapes the collection into an incisive new look at today's landscape of later-life challenges, dynamics, and relations."James A. Holstein, PhD, professor of social and cultural sciences, Marquette University "Critical Gerontology Comes of Age is a welcome addition to the effort to understand the implications of the new realities of aging in a changing world. Given the imminent retirement of baby boomer cohorts, this edited collection comes at a time when a fresh multidisciplinary perspective is needed to examine some of the most pressing questions related to Medicare, long-term care, and immigrant health in the context of an increasingly ethnically diverse and aging society. A thoughtful, comprehensive, and engaging collection of chapters address a wide range of issues in the context of a post-traditional society where monumental changes are occurring in work and family life. This book is a gift to the field of gerontology."Jacqueline L. Angel, PhD, professor of sociology and public affairs, The University of Texas at Austin "Critical Gerontology Comes of Age is an excellent and needed account of how, both empirically and methodologically, critical gerontology has developed over the last few decades into a powerful offshoot of contemporary gerontology. The topics covered are diverse and important, and attention is paid to how the field started and developed in relation to modern sociology and anthropology. The chapters are excellent and compelling. It is highly recommended."Robert Rubinstein, professor of anthropology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County About the Author Chris Wellin, PhD, is an associate professor of sociology and coordinator of gerontology programs at Illinois State University. In addition to publishing articles in numerous professional journals, Dr. Wellin was commissioned