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Aging: Cultural Gerontology

Studying the aging process and the 'longevity revolution'

Research into aging, longevity, ageism, and associated issues.

Aging is a complex process. No single experience of aging exists; every experience of aging is unique as every individual is unique. For this reason, there is no one way for societies to manage the aging process ... no universal salve. While gerontology is global, the management and administration of aged populations cannot be macrocosmic. Gerontology defies a macro-approach towards aged populations. Moreover, strategies and provisions devised for the management of the elderly cannot be reduced to culture-specific measures and legislation, nor, indeed, to even nation-state specificity. Approaches to gerontology must focus on the microcosm, that is, focus not on the society, the nation or even the community at large, but on the individual and the human and social context of the individual. The quality of the aging experience is, therefore, comprehended needfully in terms of its multi-facetedness, its diversity and its complexity, like a rough-cut diamond. In our efforts to determine the fault lines - the crystal axes - like beams of light, the fictionalisations of individual experiences of aging constitute valuable sources of information and testimony.